Latest news with #CathyPolan
Toronto Sun
09-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Prefab homes seen as the future
Modular construction — constructing segments of a building in a factory setting, then assembling them at the construction site — has been increasingly promoted by governments and the private sector as a faster way of building housing. PHOTO COURTESY OF UTILE Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Building homes in a factory would help with the ongoing affordability crisis and lack of supply This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Factory-built prefabricated housing is the way to go if the Ontario government has any hope of meeting its target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031, a new policy report from the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) recommends. Entitled Building Home, Building Faster, it states that prefabs are a 'fast-growing area of homebuilding where homes are constructed in a factory – often using prefabricated 3D components – and assembled at their final address.' OREA president Cathy Polan said now more than ever, housing affordability needs to be a top priority of the provincial government. She said while the Ford government is currently concentrating on tariffs, 'this could be a Made in Ontario solution, which means building more, building faster, having the manufacturing done in Ontario. We have the resources, the timber, the steel and we have manpower available to create the jobs. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I am hoping Rob Flack (provincial minister of municipal affairs and housing), is listening to us. This is a solution that might help our economy out and will actually help with the housing crisis. We need affordable housing.' Authors of the report state that 'it's no secret that Ontario is in an ongoing housing affordability crisis. As a result of increased home prices, economic uncertainty, and a historic lack of supply, the dream of homeownership has been pushed further out of reach for thousands across the province. 'In 2022, the Ford government made the bold commitment to build 1.5 million homes by the end of 2031. If we want to reach that housing target, we need to be building more homes significantly faster than the current building rate. Innovative building techniques and new technologies will be a key part of ensuring we meet this goal.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The problem, they conclude is clear: 'Ontario's housing supply is not keeping pace with the demand for affordable, accessible housing – and time is running out. Unless dramatic steps are taken, more and more hard working Ontarians will be priced out of the market as homeownership continues to decline.' Report authors also note that there have been 'municipal success stories,' that include: · Toronto's Modular Housing Initiative which has resulted in more than 200 homes affordable modular homes being located on city-owned property. · Peterborough establishing its Modular Bridge Housing Project and building 50 homes in seven months. · The municipality of Marathon located three hours east of Thunder Bay planning a 20-unit modular home subdivision with a price point of $125,000 for each. · The city of London halving 'development timelines on a 61-unit affordable housing project in 2022 by using a hybrid manufacturing process with factory-built foundation elements and traditional construction for finishing elements, such as the exterior brick walls.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Despite those wins, Polan, who is based in Bellville, said OREA, has received little feedback from municipal politicians when it comes to prefab homes. 'We need to educate our municipalities, continue to educate the provincial and federal government on the importance they will bring,' she says. 'In my own community, we have factory built homes, and you can't tell that they are unless you go up in the attic. They look like every other traditional home.' And as far as high land costs are concerned, that issue could be resolved by using surplus municipal lands for housing, says Polan. Meanwhile the report focuses in on five policy recommendations that OREA maintains would 'cut red tape and create favourable conditions for investment to significantly boost factory-built solutions that can eventually scale nationally.' Key among them being that the provincial government conduct a review of municipal bylaws that pertain to prefab housing, develop blueprints for prefab communities and exempt homes under 1,500 sq. ft. 'from government approvals if manufactured by an approved vendor.' OREA said in a release that the 'cost of building, supply chain issues, and economic uncertainty brought on by tariffs are impacting housing construction across the province and beyond. There is a dire need to get more homes to market faster. To fully embrace the benefits of factory-built homes and speed up constructions, regulatory barriers need to be addressed.' Canada Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Canada Toronto Maple Leafs
Globe and Mail
15-04-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Factory-built housing is an important solution for Canada's housing crisis
TORONTO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To reach Ontario's bold goal of 1.5 million homes by 2031, we need to be building more homes significantly faster than currently. Luckily, we have a proven solution – and much of what we need, from innovative building techniques to mass timber and Canadian steel, is right here in Ontario's backyard. Today, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) released a new policy report, titled Building More, Building Faster, outlining the importance of embracing factory-built homes as a key part of the solution to address Ontario's ongoing housing supply and affordability crisis. This approach would save time and money during construction, without compromising quality or neighbourhood aesthetics. Factory-built, or prefabricated housing, is a fast-growing area of homebuilding where homes are constructed in a factory – often using prefabricated 3D components – and assembled at their final address. The recently re-elected Government of Ontario recognizes the significant potential of this approach, as highlighted in their 2025 Ontario election campaign commitment to invest $50 million into prefabricated homes and innovative homebuilding technologies. The cost of building, supply chain issues, and economic uncertainty brought on by tariffs are impacting housing construction across the province and beyond. There is a dire need to get more homes to market faster. To fully embrace the benefits of factory-built homes and speed up construction, regulatory barriers need to be addressed. OREA's new report highlights five policy recommendations that would cut red tape and create favorable conditions for investment to significantly boost factory-built housing construction with 'Made-in-Ontario' solutions that can eventually scale nationally: Create a standardized, province-wide definition of factory-built housing; Engage partners in pursuit of cross-country collaboration; Reduce red tape and regulatory burdens, including at the municipal level; Encourage and invest in the expansion and adoption of factory-built homes for housing; and Exempt factory-built housing from archaic 'spring thaw' restrictions under the Highway Traffic Act. 'Now more than ever, housing affordability needs to be the top priority for the Government of Ontario to address, and with precise policies and legislation, we can help scale the housing construction industry and get more families into great, affordable new homes,' said OREA President Cathy Polan. 'It will take strong collaboration with all levels of government and industry to get it done, and the policy recommendations on factory-built housing put forward by Ontario REALTORS® in this report provide the path to getting more homes built, faster.' If implemented, we can build a stronger, more resilient housing system – faster, smarter, and made right here in Ontario. For more details on the policy recommendations, click here for the backgrounder and here to view the full policy report. For more information, please contact:
