B.C. modular housing pilot aims to cut apartment construction to 12 weeks
Burnaby will test factory-built components manufactured in B.C. to speed up affordable housing delivery and reduce costs across the province.
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A new pilot project aims to cut apartment construction time to just 12 weeks by using factory-built, modular housing components manufactured in B.C., potentially transforming how the province builds affordable homes.
The non-profit organization Modular B.C. announced Wednesday an agreement with the National Research Council to develop a modular housing playbook for governments and builders. The Burnaby Housing Authority and the City of Burnaby will conduct the first pilot on a city-owned site, with other municipalities also planning their own projects.
Paul Binotto, director of Modular B.C., envisions small apartment buildings arriving in six boxes with pieces manufactured locally and assembled in a day or two, with permitting completed in weeks. "That timeline is our goal," he said. The organization hopes to increase factory-built, modular housing from 4.5 per cent of B.C. housing starts to 25 per cent within five years.
About 20 factories across B.C. could participate in pilot projects, with the Penticton facility supplying components for Burnaby's pilot. Binotto said the factories currently operate at about 30 per cent capacity and these projects would add manufacturing jobs. The National Research Council will collect data comparing modular construction with conventional approaches so builders and asset owners can quantify time savings, cost reductions, and labour efficiency. Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, who heads a task force including mayors of Prince George, Penticton, Nanaimo, and Williams Lake, called it "a real opportunity to get home built faster and more affordably."