Costing information from the Public Consultation Documents re Proposed ABES (Accessible Built Environment Standards) with the Ontario Build Code
The Proposed OBC ABES is awaiting results of the annual review of National Model Codes by the Canadian Commission of Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC). What occurs with the Barrier Free design updates will most likely be incorporated into the OBC’s ABES. Great design is about accessibility for all ages and ability levels.
“A number of recommendations were analyzed in order to understand their potential impact on construction costs in Ontario. Recommendations included in cost analysis were those that added to the building area, or increased the size, types and number of fixtures in the buildings. The costing analysis compared four generic building prototypes including 11 different occupancies against the same buildings with enhanced accessibility features. It also looked at cost differences between locating the buildings in Southern Ontario (Greater Toronto Area) versus Northern Ontario (Sudbury).
This exercise identified the incremental costs of individual elements and any cost increases associated with the potential changes, the application of those elements to the building design and then adjusted the cost increase over the entire building.
In general, the cost variance between the generic buildings and modified buildings for each prototype were relatively small. The cost increases for each building prototype were:
Office building 0.59 per cent
Apartment building 0.88 per cent
College residence 1.99 per cent
Community school/recreation centre 1.05 per cent
Providing a transition period before Code changes come into effect would help ensure that industry will be able to anticipate and budget for any additional costs. Greater opportunities for people with disabilities and Ontario’s aging population to access retail, employment, and residential spaces may also create economic benefits.”