Microliving Development / Pocket House Community
It was 2014, I had just bought a townhome near downtown Kelowna BC, I had recently resigned from the number 1 modular dealer in Ontario Canada. I was highly motivated to take all that offsite construction experience and pour it into Canada's first Microliving Housing Development.
Recognizing the need to keep these units affordable to retiring boomers we negotiated a 10arce orchard land lease with the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB).
The starting price for these premium modular units was $249,000 up to $399,000 depending on size and options. I approached all the modular fabricators in the region (four companies), and asked them to design us "showhomes" similar to the types of small homes (320 sqft - 800 sqft) we have been witnessing since 2018-2023. They were confused by my requests, and didn't see the opportunity or market potential premium designed smaller homes.
The momentum was lost by Summer of 2015 and the development, along with the Limited Partnership was dissolved. Since this time, the market has been making consistent in roads, in small home design and fabrication. New business models are expanding, and municipalities are just beginning to see the power of Microliving and Pocket House Communities.
All 3 levels of goverment have a role to play in supporting innovative housing initiatives. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) can play a significant role in accelerated housing supply via manufacturing and rapid installation methods. We will see more of these ADU housing solutions/systems as we continue to struggle to meet demand using traditional decentralized construction techniques.