ACS Services
Affordable & Community Housing Construction in Canmore
Canmore is one of the most beautiful places in Canada to call home — and one of the hardest to afford. For the workers, families, and essential service employees who make this community run, the gap between local wages and local housing costs has become one of the defining challenges of life in the Bow Valley.
Ashton Construction Services (ACS) has been part of the solution, working in partnership with Canmore Community Housing (CCH) to deliver high-quality, below-market homes for local residents, on projects like the Ptarmigan Pointe project in the Three Sisters’ Mountain Village in 2025/26.
We don’t just build in Canmore. We live here, hire here, and invest here. Local accountability is what sets ACS apart as a community housing partner, and it’s the inspiration for our community values.
Our Partnership with Canmore Community Housing
ACS has worked directly with CCH on the delivery of affordable housing in Canmore, serving as general contractor on projects that prioritize community need over commercial return. Our most recent completed project is Ptarmigan Pointe — a CCH development that brought much-needed three-bedroom family units to Canmore’s housing waitlist.
The mandate at Ptarmigan Pointe was clear from the outset: deliver market-quality finishes at below-market rates, without compromising on the standard of build that residents deserve. Fixed budgets, funding-cycle timelines, and accountability to a community organization — these are the conditions ACS plans and builds for.
The main advantage of hiring local builders and tradespeople is that they are accountable and can respond quickly to inquiries, concerns, and issues — even after the buildout is complete and owners have moved on to new projects. It has been great to have a local and responsive builder, such as ACS, to meet with owners, address issues directly, or get in touch with the necessary tradespeople to resolve them quickly. As a local non-profit pseudo-developer, it’s great for us to use local trades as much as we can, as it means we are reinvesting in our local workforce — part of our community. Many local trades are already part of our program, through waitlists or as owners themselves.
– Canmore Community Housing
For a deeper look at Canmore’s housing landscape and ACS’s perspective on building for the community, read our blog: Building Community: ACS and Canmore Community Housing.
The Affordable Housing Challenge in Canmore
Canmore’s housing market is shaped by its geography and its reputation. As a world-class destination within easy reach of Calgary and close to Banff, demand for property in the town is intense, and that demand drives prices well beyond what many local workers can sustain. The result is a community where hospitality workers, healthcare staff, tradespeople, and retail employees can no longer afford to live in the communities they serve.
CCH exists to bridge that gap. Supported by the Alberta affordable housing framework and driven by a mandate to provide quality homes at below-market rates, CCH develops and manages housing for Canmore residents who would otherwise be priced out of the community.
ACS’s role is to build those homes to the standard they deserve, delivering on the promise that affordable doesn’t mean inferior. Every unit we build for CCH is a direct investment in the long-term health and cohesion of the Bow Valley community. The same workforce housing challenge plays out across the region; read about our employee housing work across the Bow Valley for a broader picture of how ACS is addressing it.
Why Local Builders Matter for Community Housing
Community housing projects in Canmore have demands that commercial developments don’t. Timelines are tied to funding cycles. Budgets are fixed and closely scrutinized. The end users — families, local workers, essential service employees — are depending on every unit being ready on time and built to last.
A local contractor brings something an out-of-town builder cannot: genuine accountability to the community the project is serving.
- Direct, in-person response to issues during construction and after occupancy — not a call centre issuing a work order
- An established Bow Valley subcontractor network that reduces scheduling risk and keeps trades investment local
- Familiarity with Canmore’s building codes, planning requirements, and site conditions
- Reinvestment in the local trades workforce — many of whom are part of the CCH community themselves, either on the waitlist or as owners
- A reputation in the community that depends on the quality of every project we deliver
For CCH, working with ACS isn’t just a procurement decision — it’s a values-aligned choice. Read more about how ACS operates as a force for good in the Bow Valley.
What ACS Builds
ACS brings general contracting and construction management expertise to community and affordable housing projects across Canmore and the Bow Valley. Our completed projects in this sector include:
- Ptarmigan Pointe (CCH) — one- to three-bedroom family units delivered for Canmore’s housing waitlist
- 121 Bow Meadows — an employee housing development in Canmore
- Multi-unit residential buildings developed in partnership with non-profit and quasi-governmental housing organizations
- Mixed-use residential and community facility projects
We coordinate every aspect of the build — from pre-construction planning and budgeting through to final inspections and occupancy — so that housing organizations can focus on the people they serve, not the construction process. View our full multi-family project portfolio for more examples of ACS’s residential construction work across the Bow Valley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ACS have experience with publicly funded and non-profit housing projects?
Yes. ACS has worked directly with CCH as general contractor on community housing in Canmore and understands the unique requirements of publicly funded construction — fixed-budget delivery, funding-cycle timelines, reporting obligations, and accountability to community stakeholders. These aren’t constraints we adapt to mid-project; they’re built into our planning from day one.
Can ACS work within the funding and timeline constraints of a CCH or similar project?
Yes. Community housing projects operate within strict financial frameworks, and ACS has direct experience delivering to fixed budgets and funding-cycle deadlines. Our pre-construction planning process is specifically designed to surface cost and schedule risks early — before they become problems on-site.
What if an architect or designer is already engaged on the project?
ACS works comfortably within a traditional general contracting structure, where the architect leads design, and ACS manages construction delivery. We can also provide full construction management services where a more integrated approach is required. Either way, we’re experienced at coordinating across multiple stakeholders — housing organizations, designers, engineers, and trades — to keep projects moving.
Can ACS deliver projects in phases if funding is staged?
Yes. Phased delivery is something ACS has experience planning for. If a project’s funding arrives in tranches or construction needs to be staged across multiple seasons, we build that structure into the pre-construction schedule so each phase is properly scoped and sequenced.
Does ACS build affordable and workforce housing outside of Canmore?
Yes. ACS has delivered workforce and employee housing across the Bow Valley, including affordable, modern housing for employees of Lake Louise Ski Resort. The local housing challenge impacts the whole of the Bow Valley, including Banff and Lake Louise
Work With a Builder Who’s Part of the Community
If you’re involved in affordable or community housing development in Canmore or the Bow Valley — whether as a non-profit, a housing authority, a developer, or a municipality — ACS is ready to bring the same commitment to your project that we brought to Ptarmigan Pointe.
We’re not just builders. We’re your neighbours. Get in touch with our team to start the conversation.
Contact ACS at 403-688-3500 or contact Ashton Construction Services to schedule a meeting and start planning your commercial construction project.
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