livethevillage.ca
Project Overview
- The pilot project is to develop a 3-5 acre site as a pocket/village home community.
- Home size in the range of 400-800 sq ft. It is likely factory-built.
- Rental and purchase
- Private service utilities (water and waste management).
- Sustainable building and site design (e.g., integrated energy and water efficient systems, in situ waste/water management).
- It is developed in clusters of 5-6 units at a time.
- The total unit number will be determined when the site is engineered.
- An initial target of 1 in 5-6 units affordable (dependent on some form of capital/cost incentives from government(s)).
Proposed Location
- 430 County Road 25, Oxford Mills, Ontario, K0G 1S0
- Current zoning rural with entrance on to main county road
- Electrical service at main road
- 3 acres of site has not been used, 2 acres surplus horse paddocks
The overall design/layout
Our inspiration for the design of The Village flows from the work of American architect Ross Chapin. Ross's approach to creating integrated "pocket" communities that blend personal and collective spaces offers residents the opportunity to lead safe, happy, and fulfilling lives. Home is more than the place one lives, but very much about who one lives with, and how.
Illustration Only and Not a Site Plan for the Pilot Site
Our Homes
Our efforts started using the terminology of "tiny homes" to describe the type of homes to be found in the Village. However, most of the use of the phrase tiny homes is associated with tiny homes on wheels (THOWs), whereas our properties are built to full home standards and are permanently fixed on the site. We have therefore adopted the term "village homes" to describe what are referred to by some as accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
As our efforts have continued and with feedback from our focus groups, we have be honing in on a two bedroom format with overall interior square footage close to 800 sq ft.
We also drew inspiration from the post World War II efforts a federal crown corporation called Wartime Housing Limited (WHL) which successfully built and managed thousands of rental units. These "strawberry box" homes were simple in design with an average size of 800 sq. ft. Inspired by the past, we will use the modern factory build techniques to achieve economies of scale and cost savings to build our village/pocket homes (the new strawberry box!).
