Millionaire builds 99 tiny homes to help his community
https:// www.cbc.ca /player/play/2277497923783 Millionaire builds 99 tiny homes to help his community
After selling his software business for millions, Marcel Lebrun decided to pour his time and money into an affordable housing project in Fredericton. CBC’s Harry Forestell takes a closer look at the 12 Neighbours community and its impact on the people who live there.
Housing is largely inadequate due to a reliance on the free market and voluntary philanthropy to supply it.
This wealthy individual used wealth derived from the free market for some voluntary philanthropy.
System working as intended: a problem reinforced through its own aenemic mitigation.
22I think this is great. You can argue he’s making money off it or benefiting in some way but as long as people get to live in these houses on an affordable budget, great. They get a place to call home, personal space, a community with similar struggles. Most people don’t need big spaces, they just need a space and shelter.
12There’s a lot of negativity in this thread. I think people often forget that perfect is the enemy of good. Cheap housing is objectively a good thing.
11Honestly, my biggest worry/criticism is that there is no way to prevent these 99 homes from becoming 99 Airbnb's.
Don't think there is any way for them to prevent that though.
0I'm actually surprised big hotel hasn't tried to have air bnb outlawed.
I'm not even sure which monster to root for there.
3
How tiny are we talking? It's not a very detailed article.
10The New Brunswick government site says 18m², and there are some pictures on https://www.12neighbours.com/
18You know, the first thing I thought of is that you could build like 6x that many homes if you just didn't bother with the yards and added a second story. I mean, yes, what was done is nice, but it's basically just a trailer park. I bet that the land alone was like 70% of the cost if not 90% as well, so building the houses more densely would've provided for several times as many people for almost no extra cost.
Alternatively, a single mid-rise apartment building would've done the same thing on only a fraction of the land, and probably a lot more comfortable to live in, not to mention cheaper on amenities like heating and sewage.
5
From the looks of them, about 1/3 of a typical singlewide mobile home, built of similar materials. Basically more of a shack.
1
why are they tiny and not regular
5I'll play devil's advocate here ...
First is many homeless need an address to start receiving any monetary help at all (CPP, social assistance, disability, etc). This starts the process.
Second is many don't have jobs so wouldn't be able to afford the maintenance costs of a full-size house.
Third is this could be a starter home for some, where they could get a job and start saving for a down-payment on a home or a larger rental unit.
29Too add onto that, by building more smaller units than fewer larger units, Lebrun can potentially impact more people positively.
25I think it's a decent solution for some. A small private space. I'll note though that it is rather inefficient in land use. Many of the residents will need a car as well as they get back on their feet. Building these is closer to suburban sprawl in the form of a mini-mobile home park, which is not terrible, as I said it will be a decent solution for some.
I'd be curious as to the construction costs and land use for 99 of these tiny homes vs. building apartment blocks/condos closer into transit and work. Granted I was curious and a quick Google show $800,000 for 880 ft^2 1 bed, 1 bath condo in Vancouver.
3I don't think you understand the term "Devil's Advocate" as everything you're (rightly) stating is positive to the person doing this.
To play the Devil's Advocate, the person doing this is a Millionaire. I guarantee they are getting tax breaks out the ears for doing this and their accountants will ensure that this ends up being a money making venture for them. Pessimistically speaking, there's no such thing as altruism.
0
He is able to build one a week (with kitchen, toilet, shower) so it gets the people in fast. Building a regular home needs foundation and has lots of wasted space like hallways, etc. And not your own space if you have multiple tennants in a 4 bedroom , who want to be sel sufficient individuals
12Dudes a millionaire, not billionaire. /S
7Larger homes cost more to build for obvious reasons, so with any given amount of money, you have to balance the amount of individual units you can build with the size of the units.
Which is to say that you can provide homes for more people if you make them tiny and not regular
5Most of the cost of a home comes from the land sale itself, unless if you're building somewhere nobody wants the land (in which case there's nothing nearby to earn a living by as well). Considering that, building larger will only marginally increase the price. Doubly so if the larger building is for more than one resident.
A pair of townhouses can be built for almost the same cost of a single typical single family house, yet house two families on the same plot of land. A condo or apartment can house dozens for the cost of less than 10 normal houses.
Not to mention the reduced cost of plumbing and heating if you build one large building for a community rather than having dozens of separate systems for individual shacks.
3
What's the mix of singles and families in the group needing shelter?
What funds are available? Is it better to build 99 tiny houses or 50 regular but small houses or 25 moderately sized homes?
What land and services are available? Are there differences in permitting?
Are there differences in the construction process? Is it better to jumpstart a project returning nearly immediate results with a bunch of quick and easy to build tiny houses or to take much longer to build out?
What I'd like to see is the long term plan. Is this the beginning of something grand or just a bandaid. It's not that we don't sometimes need bandaids, but it would be nicer to see a longer term plan.
As a first step? Maybe it will prove to be a misstep, but at least someone is doing, not just talking. Learn as we go.
1This project looks like a jump up from Seattle’s various tiny homes villages (Nickelsville, Othello, etc), which are around 120sq.ft each and don’t have running water, if I recall. Those are considered temporary housing, but this is a like a next step up.
Curious how these ones interact with building codes, etc, being more permanent.
Either way, people who haven’t frozen to death, been stabbed, or OD’d have more options for recovery and moving forward.
7
Because we can't let poor people have dignity. A large part of our system is designed to punish poor people for being poor, and to make sure that they know it.
I don't think people realize how important hierarchy and order are to the wealthy. As a class, they're so far above basic needs (food, shelter, security) that all that really matters is their station in the world. When you understand that, you'll also understand why the wealthy are almost viscerally, psychotically opposed to anything the "flattens" society: public education, healthcare, social services. They're quite happy to, eg, donate a hospital wing because it's a grand gesture of their magnanimity, but if you ask them to pay the same in taxes they'll kick and scream.
If you just let poor people lead a life of quiet dignity... (shudder)
-3This gives them immediate dignity. Address, wash and toilet facilities, a kitchen, and a safe place to sleep amd keep belongings. Just because a 200sqft house doesn't look like a detached 2 story don't take away their chance at living like a human. Heck non vulnerable people in Vanvouver pay huge rent for 200sq ft bicycle sheds.
1
Ah, NB. I could tell it wasn't Ontario or BC because the municipal government didn't stop him.
2Jesus he did a good thing. Dumb ass champagne-socialist idiots
0If he really was doing a good thing he'd take himself out of the equation: have the community be a co-op that buys itself over time rather than him being a permanent landlord.
2Go away with your commie bullshit.
-5