-Words Sean McIntyre  Photography Don Denton

Sky-high home prices, rising interest rates and runaway inflation have forced a full-scale rethink of the housing market. Gone in many areas of the country, it seems, is the dream of owning a single-family detached house; and Southern Vancouver Island is no exception.

In an October article published in The Globe and Mail, personal finance columnist Rob Carrick doesn香蕉视频直播檛 mince words about the momentous shift: 香蕉视频直播淭he affordability of housing as we knew it is done,香蕉视频直播� he writes.

A recent report by RBC Economics noted that 香蕉视频直播渂uying a home in Canada has never been so unaffordable.香蕉视频直播�

Making home ownership work from here on out will clearly require many of us to change where we live, what we live in and who we live with. It香蕉视频直播檚 a world in which houses will occupy a smaller footprint and co-housing, multi-family units as well as homes with adjacent garden suites will increasingly become the norm.

Al Jackson, co-founder and president of , couldn香蕉视频直播檛 possibly have predicted the speed at which these changes would hit society, but he most definitely chose the right time to launch a company that香蕉视频直播檚 managing to check all the right boxes in the new housing reality.

香蕉视频直播淭he problem of housing affordability is not just in the big cities, we are seeing it all across the province and across the country for that matter,香蕉视频直播� he says. 香蕉视频直播淚t requires creative solutions, [including] the realization that we need to live in smaller spaces and, therefore, those spaces need to be very smartly designed and intelligently laid out to make the most use of the space available.香蕉视频直播�

He adds: 香蕉视频直播淲e need to look through a different lens and that香蕉视频直播檚 what we are trying to do here at Nexus as are many others in the housing sector. We absolutely have turned a corner where it is no longer a desire to change, but it is a requirement to change the lens through which we look at housing.香蕉视频直播�

Prior to launching Nexus Modular in 2017, Al was already well established among the Cowichan Valley香蕉视频直播檚 entrepreneurial titans. Al made his name by starting Jackson Grills, a brand of quality barbecues that quickly expanded across North America from its humble roots in the Duncan area. After selling the company to a Lower Mainland-based buyer in 2011, Al pivoted to the booming housing sector, where he got started developing traditional 香蕉视频直播渟tick-built香蕉视频直播� single-detached homes.

Nexus Modular represents the culmination of his experience to date, merging the efficiencies of warehouse manufacturing with the need to meet a changing housing market.

香蕉视频直播淚 came from a process-based manufacturing background and have kept that factory methodology in the back of my mind this whole time,香蕉视频直播� he says. 香蕉视频直播淣exus is what香蕉视频直播檚 called a volumetric modular manufacturer. This means we build finished housing with the appliances in place, tiles on the wall, flooring in and cabinetry all done. So, it香蕉视频直播檚 basically just place the home, connect it to services and move your furniture in. The idea behind doing this is to keep all the trades under one roof and help us improve efficiencies of cost and timing.香蕉视频直播�

This year marks Nexus Modular香蕉视频直播檚 expansion from its original location in Chemainus to a 16,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Cobble Hill. The new headquarters enables each of the tradespeople, craftsmen and designers to work on multiple projects simultaneously under a single roof. The convenience minimizes travel time, eliminates weather-related holdups, and reduces waste associated with the building process. It also makes good business sense as it allows Nexus Modular香蕉视频直播檚 projects to go from inception to completion in a mere 120 days, with only a few days of actual on-site time for delivery of the finished product. For houses built within what he calls the company香蕉视频直播檚 sweet spot香蕉视频直播攂etween roughly 400 and 1,700 square feet香蕉视频直播擜l confidently boasts that a factory-built home can be 10 to 20 per cent less expensive than a conventional home.

The past few months have seen Nexus Modular working alongside the Cowichan Housing Association to provide local housing options for those who need it the most. The company has also worked with Cowichan Tribes to build upwards of 34 units of housing in a multi-family setting.

Although Nexus can provide suitable and affordable options for a variety of commercial and industrial projects, Al says, the company is housing-focussed. Whether a property owner is looking for a principal residence or looking to add an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to an established site, Nexus Modular has the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of requests.

香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 lots of options, absolutely,香蕉视频直播� Al says. 香蕉视频直播淲e do a lot of home offices, yoga studios, farm stands香蕉视频直播攁ll of those types of applications. We are also involved in multi-family projects, laneway houses and farm-worker housing. We香蕉视频直播檝e got the ability to look at projects outside of housing and see how the modular approach can fit those situations, but our growth moving forward is housing-focussed. The single- and multi-family units are absolutely our core business.香蕉视频直播�

And don香蕉视频直播檛 let talk of manufactured homes stir up images of drab, utilitarian prefabricated clones. A quick look at some of the company香蕉视频直播檚 completed projects around Southern Vancouver Island or on the Nexus Modular website reveals a stylish and contemporary look that features efficiently designed layouts to make that smaller footprint feel larger.

香蕉视频直播淥ne of the cool things about having our in-house design team is that we can control the project,香蕉视频直播� Al says. 香蕉视频直播淭his allows us to create a very traditional product or a very contemporary product. We can really tailor the look and feel of the product to the homeowner香蕉视频直播檚 needs.

香蕉视频直播淎nd because we are a Vancouver Island company serving a Vancouver Island base, we have that ability to have that in-person, one-on-one consultation with all of our clients so we can walk the homeowner through the entire process.香蕉视频直播�

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Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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