Students from Ryerson and the University of Toronto designed a net-zero energy laneway home that won a U.S. competition. Craig Race, co-founder of Lanescape, mentored the students for the competition.
The Fast Lane to Affordable Housing for one Toronto resident is in a laneway
Brandon Donnelly has been thinking about building a laneway house for more than a decade and even went so far as to submit drawings to the city’s planning department five years ago. The 34-year-old real-estate developer said the reception back then wasn’t positive.
“They had no idea what it was. ‘Where’s the street? There’s no frontage.’ It didn’t register with them,” he recounted. “They didn’t support it so I decided to put it on hold and wait for the landscape to change.”
He believes change is here.
CBC News Story on Laneway Housing Vote at Toronto City Council
See our co-founder, Andrew, in a news story on laneway housing in Toronto. The story begins @ 15:35.
Toronto Company Wants to Build Tiny Homes in your Back Yard
Amidst Toronto’s condo boom, many groups are working on alternatives to building taller and taller building by finding creative solutions to the city’s housing crunch. Lanescape wants to take advantage of oft-overlooked spaces (backyards and laneways) to help boost the housing supply in the city.
Are Laneway Suites a Solution to Toronto’s Housing Crisis?
“There are thousands of opportunities to build small, one-family units along laneways.”
The reality is that we live in a city of rental shortages, increasingly out-of-reach housing prices, dwindling affordable housing options, and a population that keeps growing. Here’s where laneway housing comes in.
Last month, community council passed a motion that requested that City staff report on a laneway housing initiative that would make it easier to create laneway suites. If approved, we can expect a staff report on the table early next year.