Vancouver Special 2.0
Looking to combat the high cost of living and bring a sense of style and design to the city of Vancouver, Michael Katz along with wife and co-designer Janet Corne have designed a modern pre-fab triplex that’s will fit on the average Vancouver lot (33′ x 122′). With these factory built homes, one lot is transformed into a high-quality revenue generator, more so than a normal home with an average basement suite. The two units are thought to generate $1800 and $2000.
Called the Vancouver Special 2.0, the prefab house consists of a 1800 sqft 3 bedroom house, a slightly below grade 2 bedroom garden suite and a 2 bedroom 500 sqft laneway house. Keeping quality and new technology in mind, they will include rooftop gardens, solar panels, net-zero energy, radiant heat and high-quality appliances. Even better, they can come with high-end furnishings to complete the package.
Given that the house is purchased as a whole, financing should be easier since there will be no unexpected costs in the build or timeline. It can be built in less than 6 months and to make the most of the time, the foundation will be constructed on the future site of the house while the house is being built in the factory. The short turnaround time means future owners don’t have to wait as long and can start generating revenue sooner.
Britco, modular homebuilders, will be building the units in their factory, which is already producing about 250 factory built houses (about the same size as the Vancouver Special 2.0) every year.
The cost of the Vancouver Special 2.0 will be about $275/sqft (which equals $750,000) plus the cost of the land and teardown of the previous house (which will be the most expensive aspect of the cost). Knowing this price range can be difficult for some Buyers, Mr. Katz is working with a financial institution to set up a financing package to decrease the down payment for customers. Keep in mind, you’re getting good quality for your money (compared to building a typical house) since you’re saving money when it comes to labour (since it’s built in a factory under controlled weather conditions and with proper materials and tradesmen on hand).
With quite a few interested buyers’s already, this could be the start of a new trend in Vancouver!
Click for more information on Michael Katz Architecture.
