Bob Ransford
Sun
When architect and developer Michael Geller launched a trial balloon about his idea to provide immediate relief for Vancouver‘s homeless by temporarily housing them in portable modular housing I was skeptical.
My first reaction was that his was hardly a form of housing we wanted to add to the mix of dwelling types in our city.
After all, how small and how basic do we want to go when it comes to providing a roof over our heads?
Geller’s “temporary” solution also looked like it might too easily morph into a permanent housing solution for the poor.
I envisioned new mini-ghettos springing up in the already unreal neighbourhood of the Downtown Eastside supplanting a more durable housing solution for those in real need. However, the more I study Geller’s ideas that are still in development and after hearing him explain the fine details of a subject he has exhaustively researched, the more I see the multiple benefits his idea offers.
Small modular housing promises not only to be an immediate and flexible solution for homelessness, it is also a long-term option for increasing housing diversity, developing a new form of housing at the more affordable end of the housing cost spectrum.
Imagine smaller, cost effective dwellings that can be quickly brought to market to help alleviate the housing affordability challenge for many wanting to live in Vancouver.
Yes, the housing units Geller is proposing are small.
What’s wrong with small homes?
There was a time when a starter family home in the suburbs wasn’t much bigger than what is being proposed.
In the study Geller and architect Tom Staniszkis undertook recently for BC Housing, they proposed factory-produced, movable homes based on 12-foot-by-60-foot modules.
Each module could contain either eight sleeping rooms that are 11 feet by 11 feet, each with its own small bathroom, or 9 sleeping rooms which share two common bathrooms. The modules can be stacked two or even three high.
The cost per furnished unit would work out to about $38,000 for units with their own bathroom and $32,700 for units with shared bathrooms.
Remember, these are homes for people currently living on the street and are meant as an interim measure while permanent housing can be constructed.
However, the same factory-produce module can be adapted for larger family suites by reducing the number of those accommodated in each module and by increasing the level of amenities and finishes.
A 12-foot-by-60-foot module could accommodate a 720-square-foot apartment or two 360-square-foot apartments.
Geller doesn’t advocate modular housing developments as a replacement for permanent social housing for those in need.
He advanced the ideas that these modular homes could be built as multi-dwelling developments on vacant or under-utilized properties in the city to be used until such time as adequate permanent housing is available.
The magic is that these modules can be easily re-located and recycled. Land might be available today on a temporary basis because it is in transition while a private property owner plans a higher and better use.
With incentives, such as property tax forgiveness, a private owner might be willing to make the property available for a community need.
Under-utilized publicly owned site can also be used to temporarily meet a social housing need. These social housing sites do not have to and should not have to be located only in the Downtown Eastside.
Social housing needs that arise throughout the city and the region can be met in neighbourhoods where there is a need.
The same modular development can be economically re-located to another neighbourhood when permanent social housing is made available.
The same form of housing, adapted for a different market–the affordable consumer-driven housing market–could also be developed by the private sector on both a permanent basis using similar modules or as temporary housing in neighbourhoods in transition.
Geller has recommended a demonstration project to address the immediate housing needs for those currently living on the streets.
He is recommending the first development using temporary modular housing for approximately 60 rooms be located on the parking lot of an old Downtown Eastside hotel– the Drake on Powell Street that was recently acquired by the provincial government in it quest to secure single-room occupancy hotels.
Vancouver city council recently backed this plan and another demonstration project proposed by architect Gregory Henriquez for about 120 rooms in temporary modules on the Continental Hotel site on Granville in Downtown South.
The city is awaiting provincial government funding to assist with these demonstration projects.
This is one form of housing worth considering if we are going to effectively tackle the housing affordability challenge in this part of the world.
Bob Ransford is a public affairs consultant with CounterPoint Communications Inc.
He is a former real estate developer who specializes in urban land use issues. E-mail him at [email protected]
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