Vancouver looks at modular units, stacked townhomes to help get people into the housing market

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – For months now, we’ve been telling you about how difficult it is for people to break into the white-hot housing market.

Now, the City of Vancouver is trying to come up with creative solutions as it feels it’s running out of options.

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Mayor Gregor Robertson admits there is a lack of affordable housing, especially for those on a fixed income. To help deal with that, City Hall has deemed two sites in Vancouver for modular units.

“We’ve made gains creating housing for modest income households, but our housing market is very difficult for people on fixed incomes,” says Robertson. “We need to tackle the housing affordability crisis head-on with creative approaches like modular housing. We have a huge task ahead of us, but we’re not backing down, and we’ll keep pursuing all options to build more affordable housing.”

But what about families who are trying to buy a place in the city but can’t afford it? Robertson is offering up the idea of stacked townhomes as one potential solution:

“This is a definite example of where we’re headed and having more creative approaches with housing. We’ve seen successful examples of modular housing. We see this as a real opportunity for us, given we have empty sites around the city that are waiting for redevelopment and we have great modular housing technology here. We need to get some housing available as soon as possible.”

He adds the goal is get more permanent housing and he’s calling on the provincial and federal governments for help.

“This is a step we feel we can get hundreds of people into housing in the short-term. Good housing that bridges the gap until we have more permanent housing available.”

The modular units will include a kitchen and bathroom. They’re between 250 and 280 square feet and should be available next year.