Daniel Foch, Daniel Clark, and Adam Darvay recently stopped by Mackay Laneway House to film a last-minute video tour before the new tenants move in. They had quite the rig setup (see above). There was also a drone flying around that is not pictured here.… Read More
All posts tagged “laneway suite”
Los Angeles adopts “standard plan program” to encourage ADU construction
The city of Los Angeles has taken an interesting approach to accessory dwelling units (what we generally call laneway or garden suites here in Toronto). In an effort to streamline the approvals process and bolster the supply of housing in the city, they’ve gone out… Read More
Mackay Laneway House is now complete and available for rent
Eleven years and a few setbacks later and we now have a completed laneway house. As Bill Gates once said, “most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” Construction is all finished up and… Read More
Double height space at Mackay Laneway House
The drywall started this week at Mackay Laneway House. This is a fun part of the construction process because it is that moment in time where, very quickly, the space transforms from a full on construction site to something that starts to resemble a livable… Read More
3 ways to get into real estate development
The most popular post on this blog is this one here called, “What real estate developers do and why I became one.” This post alone has been responsible for a good chunk of the organic traffic that this site receives since I wrote it back… Read More
Preferred method of communication
I was “on site” this morning for the installation of the helical piers for my laneway suite (that will be the topic of a separate post). More often than not, I’m in the office. But I like going on site because, well, building things is… Read More
Mackay Laneway House is now under construction
Well, it only took 11 years. I still remember the first time I walked into Etobicoke Civic Centre and showed the lady at the counter my design for a laneway house. She didn’t know what a laneway house was and she couldn’t figure out where… Read More
Deferring development charges on a laneway suite
Currently, if you’re building an Ancillary Secondary Dwelling Unit (such as a laneway suite) in the City of Toronto, you can defer the payment of any development charges for 20 years from the date that a building permit is issued for the unit. But really… Read More
The problem of Erie Terrace (and why Craven Road has one really long fence)
On the east side of Toronto is a north-south street called Craven Road. It runs from Queen Street in the south to Danforth Avenue in the north. It’s an odd street in that there are only homes on one side of it — the east… Read More
Laneway garage conversion in Toronto
This isn’t a laneway suite per se, but Office Ou here in Toronto recently completed this garage conversion. The idea was to take a typical rear laneway garage and turn it into something that could better house a wide range of uses. As Toronto reconsiders… Read More