When communities found themselves squeezed out of city living, town planners in Toronto were forced to meet the challenge head on. With innovation at its core, the Missing Middle is now becoming an exciting new opportunity for development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the Ontario economy and impacted the short-term livelihood of millions of families. The immediate recovery imperative will be to fast track projects. It is hard to argue that getting Ontarians back to work should not be a government priority. Getting the cranes moving again on already approved projects is a positive step; construction is a leading employer in our province, and it will be a significant leader in job recovery.

R-Hauz secures funding to increase capabilities in product delivery and technology, invest in supply chain expertise and expand infrastructure in strategic markets.

Homeowners are turning to stand-alone additions to address their burning desire for more room.

“I realized I could built it faster, for less money, and also to the highest standards we have for energy, thermal and sustainability. That was the lightbulb moment for me!” Leith Moore, veteran builder and co-founder of R-Hauz.

Lockdown pushed families into home-expansion panic mode, with parents forced to turn every forgotten corner into usable space: unfinished basements became makeshift offices, kids’ bedrooms became ad hoc dance studios and bathrooms became the only place to find a quiet escape for conference calls.

To the rescue came prefabricated construction, a practical, affordable and quick way for cramped residents to squeeze every last inch out of their square footage. It’s a speedy solution for maxed-out households looking to keep extended family close–but not too close.

A digital mastermind series profiling Toronto’s top city-building innovators and the stories behind the movements they built. Join us for the next episode of the How We Built This Toronto mastermind series and hear about Leith Moore’s ascent into one of Canada’s preeminent creators, developers and builders of innovative housing solutions involving wood construction and factory built panelized solutions. Leith’s story starts with deep roots in the traditional real estate industry with 30+ years of development experience and evolved into a mission to solve the missing middle conundrum. They said it couldn’t be done, but Leith continued to persevere. A story that we are very excited to share.

Ontario’s first six-storey mass timber residential rental building in Toronto is underway on Queen Street East. The largely prefabricated CLT structure will be assembled in less than six weeks, after the foundation has been completed. The mass timber design consists of a 20-foot-wide six-plex and a 40-foot 12-plex.

Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Thanks to investments made by the Government of Canada and a unique partnership with the United Church of Canada, up to 5,000 new affordable housing units will be built across the country over the next 15 years.

The announcement was held at 1598 Queen Street East in Toronto, the site of the first R-Hauz all-mass timber residential building in Toronto. The environmentally sustainable building represents UPRC’s commitment to fill the “missing middle” in housing across the country and advocate for progressive real estate models that are environmental and financially sustainable.

Posted with permission of the publisher of NRU Publishing Inc. Original article first appeared in Novae Res Urbis Toronto, Vol. 24, No. 33, Friday, August 21, 2020.