STRAWBERRY BOX HOMES
Executive Summary
Pocket Village:
Affordable & Sustainable
Our proposed first stage is a pilot project for a small-scale, sustainable, and affordable housing village/community. It is intended for replication across rural municipalities with a focus on neighbours and nature.
I. Housing & Construction
- Size: Complete 800 sq. ft. "strawberry box" homes.
- Type: Factory-built to maximize cost efficiency, ensure quality control and sustainability and offer scalability.
- Location: rural X-burbs on the edge of cities with access to full suite of local amenities (20 minutes to Walmart test).
II. Sustainability & Utilities
- Systems: A strong commitment to sustainable design is central to the project, including in situ (on-site) waste and water management, allowing speedy deployment with no need to tie into central services.
- Utilities: Once attached to the grid, water and waste is delivered through communal private service, with multiple options for high speed internet.
III. Development & Community Design
- Format: It is designed as a pocket village home community, fostering a close-knit neighborhood environment focused on neighbours and nature.
- Layout: Homes will be grouped into small clusters of 5-6 units.
- Total Units: The final unit count will be determined based on site engineering and environment capacity, with a design target of 30 units per village.
IV. Affordability & Expansion
- Affordability Target: Using condominium-style village ownership, communities will be built with a strict commitment to meeting local/provincial affordability pricing targets for new homes (est. $300-$400k per unit).
- Governments Want This: Discussions with local municipal and county officials in eastern Ontario confirmed unanimous support. Tangible contributions include: waiving development fees, potential surplus land acquisition, variances etc. from official plans, including exclusion from housing limits.
- Potential to access support from senior levels of government: with a focus on housing sustainability, affordability, and with an emphasis on vulnerable cohorts (e.g. seniors, single parents, young couples), the project aligns with countless policy objectives of the provincial and federal government including as housing, economic development and socio-economic well-being.
Proposed Locations
Pilot Site: North Grenville, Ontario
The initial proof-of-concept will be built on a well-defined site in North Grenville. Neighbouring municipalities have already expressed strong interest.
- Location: X-burb on the southern edge of Ottawa with local amenities already in place and support from local government secured.
- Site Size: Several sites ranging from 5-20 acres are available, allowing from optimal site selection for the pilot.
- Access & Services: The sites have direct entrance onto main county roads, and electrical service and capacity is available on these roads.
Scalability and Next Steps
The pilot will establish a replicable blueprint for affordable rural housing development.
- Village Size: The total number of units will be finalized once the site is fully engineered, accommodating the unique utility and cluster designs.
- Replication: We have engaged in discussions with multiple rural municipalities that have shown interest in adopting this affordable, scalable, sustainable housing model.
Learn More
Discover more about our mission and values at The Bloom Group. We would love to share our vision with you.
The overall design/layout
I. Core Philosophy & Community Design
The design philosophy prioritizes the relationship between the resident, their home, and their neighbors, emphasizing that well-being is intrinsically linked to community (Home is more than where one lives, but very much about who one lives with, and how).
- Design Inspiration: The model flows from Ross Chapin's approach to integrated "pocket" communities, blending personal and collective spaces.
- Layout: Homes are organized into small clusters of 5-6 units surrounding a common area, characteristic of the pocket neighborhood model.
- Home Size: Small, efficient homes of 800 sq. ft., offer enough space for all modern home amenities.
II. Sustainability & Rural Context
Universal access to high speed internet. Electrification of homes and lifestyles. A desire for home ownership, but unavailable to many. Land affordability and countless sites that could be accessed quickly. A sense among many that living out of the city core is better for personal well-being. These factors, and more, drive the village as a solution for many.
- Speed: Factory construction at scale offers speed on build with no seasonal limits (and potential for multiple shifts per day and automation). In situ removes the long wait time of having to tie into central services.
Illustration Only and Not a Site Plan for the Pilot Site
Our Homes
Sustainable Village Housing: The Modern "Strawberry Box"
The "Village Home"
The design has been refined to optimize living space, low maintenance and efficient operation, and simplicity of transport, while drawing on Canadian history for inspiration.
- Terminology: The designed model is not a "tiny homes" (generally under 400 sq ft and on wheels, or a mobile home, which can be on wheels and is not built to building code standards. The term we use is "Village Homes" to describe permanently fixed, fully-built, and Ontario building code compliant per standards for all single family homes.
- Wartime Inspiration: The model is inspired by the post WWII Wartime Housing Limited "strawberry box" homes (average 800 sq. ft.), which achieved scale and affordability and continue to dot neighbourhoods across Canada.
- Refined Specs: Focus groups have led to the refinement of the home design to a two-bedroom format with an overall interior size close to 800 sq. ft.
- Construction: Units will be factory-built using modern techniques to achieve economies of scale and cost savings (the modern "strawberry box").
