A five- to six-unit housing development planned for downtown would be built using natural, non-toxic materials.

It would feature a solar-heated water system, options for drying clothes inside and outdoors, a natural cold room for storage and a number of communal areas for all residents.

It would all be done in an effort to reach the goals of sustainability, energy efficiency and co-housing.

At a meeting with council and senior management last Monday, project proponent Suat Tuzlak and Victoria-based architect Ayrie Cunliffe presented officials with more details on their plans for 701 Jarvis St. after appearing at an earlier council meeting to bring forward the basic idea.

The building would aim to be sustainable, energy efficient and provide a co-housing option in the downtown.

While the building is proposed to house five or six living units that would range in size with a common entrance and some shared facilities, such as a greenhouse, brick oven, solar hot tub and more, Tuzlak said he preferred it be seen more as "sustainable co-housing” than an apartment building.

The common entrance and shared facilities like a courtyard would help encourage interaction among residents, he stressed.

Preliminary plans would have the building constructed in a way that fits with the other buildings in the neighbourhood, primarily single-family homes.

Along with appearing similar to other homes in the area, the design features a sloped roof and ceilings, similar to an attic, which reduces the volume of air in a unit to be heated.

Another energy-efficient feature would see the frame of the structure first constructed. That would then essentially be wrapped in a "very efficient” blanket, Cunliffe explained.

Inside would be a number of other energy-efficient features, like the solar-heated water system, heat exchange and others.

The design, however, has the building extending into the required setbacks along Seventh Avenue, Cunliffe said.

As Cunliffe explained in his earlier presentation to council, the building would be constructed to set an example for Old Town. The goal is to show multi-housing developments can be built to look and feel similar to neighbourhood homes, while also achieving the city's goals of providing more density in areas of the community where residents can easily walk to and from the centre of town.

Tuzlak is aiming to have the building constructed in the summer of 2012, though he will first have to start with the formal applications to the city to develop the property.

His presentations to council have made the city aware of the plans prior to those applications, which could also deal with the setback issue, coming forward.

In bringing forward the proposal, Cunliffe, who specializes in green/sustainable developments in urban areas, has also made suggestions for the city on the surrounding neighbourhood to make it more walkable and open for such developments.

His ideas ranged from not requiring on-site parking to providing pedestrian-friendly features such as safer intersection crossings, traffic calming and providing corner park areas to limiting lighting to down-facing lighting in an effort to avoid light pollution.

As he pointed out, the 701 Jarvis St. site is just a five-minute walk from Main Street for most people.

He suggested that rather than focusing on expanding the city's population in the wider urban area, there's enough room within the city's core to the anticipated annual growth of more than two per cent.