B.C. non-profit pushes for solution to reduce construction costs, waste

B.C. homes can be more affordable while reducing ecological impact and waste production, if local governments get more creative about re-using homes, or simply more careful about deconstruction, says a new non-profit.

Michael Wiebe with the Building Relocation and Deconstruction Association of British Columbia (BRDABC) says his organization promotes responsible alternatives to demolition.

The former Vancouver city councillor is the front man for the group, which is pushing governments and developers to consider relocating homes, abandoned school portables and work camps.

“We’re trying to create an incentive for developers to send these homes because there is a demand for the homes, and that’s kind of what we’re hoping to do because it creates cheaper, better housing,” Wiebe explained.

For example, he says the associated Renewal Development recently moved a 100-year-old schoolhouse in Kitsilano to the Squamish First Nation, where it was turned into a childhood learning centre. Weibe says the move not only represented cost savings but diverted tonnes of waste that would have ended up in a landfill.

Wiebe says even with the cost of moving, it’s far cheaper for the association’s partners to relocate a home than build a new one.

“They can get homes at about $200 a square foot. That means if you’re in a small community up the coast, you could buy a home for $200 a square foot. It’s quite a bit cheaper. As we’re seeing construction costs get up to the 400 to 600 [range].”

Wiebe says the group also works with B.C. governments to incentivize change in the real-estate industry.

“We need to recognize that when we do build, we have to think about how we’re unbuilding products in the future, and we need to find ways to move these and not just throw them away. A lot of people are looking for affordability and housing, and we can deliver that.”

—With files from Renee Bernard