make it happen. Their priority for the Minisi is to provide a financially accessible housing option to the communities most in need as quickly and sustainably as possible. “Our business model isn’t arrogant. We watch what other people are doing, wherever they are on the planet. If it’s working well, we find a way to implement it.” The traditional construction business model has held back Canada and the US from efficiently adopting off-site and modular technology, in Gene’s view. “It’s that repeated arrogance that they’re inventing something new. Modular predates the American Civil War as a building method. No one’s inventing anything here. We have to look to be open to old ideas and new ideas. We have to collaborate. We have to work together. That’s the only way we can move forward.” Practically, the difference between Grand River Modular ADUs and competing alternatives is that Grand River Modular’s products are higher quality, lower cost and can be produced faster. In all three categories, Gene says they have broken records in Ontario. For example, when it comes to durability, “Normally you’re looking at between six and 24 cracks when you transport a unit. Ours has none, and we took the prototype down some pretty rough roads. None of us were expecting that but that has clearly shown the benefit of listening to your trade experts who carry out the build.” Gene sees the possible applications for Grand River Modular’s product as vast and varied. For now, he says, they are focusing on working within Six Nations, Ohsweken, Tyendinaga, and communities in western and southern Ontario where the need for housing is great. Moving forward, however, they want to work all over the country and beyond. The “bottom line,” Gene says, is they want to provide as many homes as possible and hope many others will follow suit in launching their own “families working for families” endeavours. In particular, Gene says they want to provide more homes for people who need them. They want to support people aging-in-place, they want to create greater opportunities for first home ownership by youths, they want to support multi-generational living and mitigate homelessness – wherever their homes are needed, Grand River Modular wants to help for the sake of future generations. “If we can put out 50 ADU’s and it gets rid of a tent city, that’s a really good mission,” Gene says. “That’s the kind of thing we want to accomplish. We don’t just want to grow to make money. The difference between us and other for-profits is we view money as a tool, not a collector’s item.” JULY 2024
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