When Sault native Derek Nott returned to Canada after living abroad for 15 years, he was surprised to learn of the housing shortage across the country, including in the Sault and area.
“I was shocked,” said Nott, a log home builder.
“The City of Sault Ste. Marie alone is 650 units short of what we need to house the people that live here.
"I understand there’s an influx of new Canadians and there’s an aging housing stock here and across Canada. There are lots of buildings here that were built in the early 1900s that just aren't livable anymore. That's a big factor. A lot of those buildings aren't worth salvaging,” Nott said in an interview with SooToday.
Combining his professional skills as a home builder with an entrepreneurial spirit, Nott launched Great Lakes Modular Homes two years ago with a plan to ease the housing shortage in the Sault and area.
Located on White Oak Drive East with a 4,000 square foot production plant and a 400 square foot showroom, GLM Homes builds wooden prefabricated roof, wall, ceiling and floor panels that are shipped to construction sites and used to build modular, energy-efficient homes.
“We have a team of three people right now plus myself. Basically we have an automated assembly line to make our prefabricated components.
"We ship the components on a transport and then we crane all the components into place. It's a way of manufacturing quickly and efficiently with a very low workforce,” Nott said.
Modular homes are built more quickly than traditional homes.
“We've sold four units since June. We're signing contracts for another three within the next couple of weeks. We are projecting up to 25 units next year. We can produce up to 40 homes out of our existing shop per year,” Nott said.
GLM Homes has recently become a preferred vendor for Accessory Dwelling Units in Sault Ste. Marie and a potential vendor for the Prefabricated Exterior Energy Retrofit Canada Program.
GLM Homes has three modular home kits for sale, ranging from 450 to 800 square feet and between $139,000 and $189,000.
There are special incentives in place for property owners interested in purchasing a modular home and renting it out.
“There's a $50,000 per door grant for building our models on properties inside the city limits close to schools, the hospital and bus routes.
"Up to $50,000 would be subsidized by the per door grant from the municipality, reducing the cost to build the home and allowing the homeowner to offer it as an affordable housing rental,” Nott said.
This is how the city is streamlining the permit process.
"We have a pre-approved permit to erect our small structures all over the city because the federal government has realized that the real need is inside city limits and not in rural areas. We need affordable housing for new Canadian students and young couples inside the city limits.”
Nott said GLM Homes will be applying for funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and FedNor to expand into a larger shop that can produce up to 200 homes a year to sell across Ontario.
“When I moved back I saw a need and a demand with our housing crisis to improve the way we build things so that we can manufacture things quicker, cheaper and more efficiently to combat the housing crisis that we have here.
"So far it's good for us and the government is supportive,” Nott said.
