-Words Sean McIntyre  Photography Don Denton

Sky-high home prices, rising interest rates and runaway inflation have forced a full-scale rethink of the housing market. Gone in many areas of the country, it seems, is the dream of owning a single-family detached house; and Southern Vancouver Island is no exception.

In an October article published in The Globe and Mail, personal finance columnist Rob Carrick doesnB次元官网网址檛 mince words about the momentous shift: B次元官网网址淭he affordability of housing as we knew it is done,B次元官网网址� he writes.

A recent report by RBC Economics noted that B次元官网网址渂uying a home in Canada has never been so unaffordable.B次元官网网址�

Making home ownership work from here on out will clearly require many of us to change where we live, what we live in and who we live with. ItB次元官网网址檚 a world in which houses will occupy a smaller footprint and co-housing, multi-family units as well as homes with adjacent garden suites will increasingly become the norm.

Al Jackson, co-founder and president of , couldnB次元官网网址檛 possibly have predicted the speed at which these changes would hit society, but he most definitely chose the right time to launch a company thatB次元官网网址檚 managing to check all the right boxes in the new housing reality.

B次元官网网址淭he problem of housing affordability is not just in the big cities, we are seeing it all across the province and across the country for that matter,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚t requires creative solutions, [including] the realization that we need to live in smaller spaces and, therefore, those spaces need to be very smartly designed and intelligently laid out to make the most use of the space available.B次元官网网址�

He adds: B次元官网网址淲e need to look through a different lens and thatB次元官网网址檚 what we are trying to do here at Nexus as are many others in the housing sector. We absolutely have turned a corner where it is no longer a desire to change, but it is a requirement to change the lens through which we look at housing.B次元官网网址�

Prior to launching Nexus Modular in 2017, Al was already well established among the Cowichan ValleyB次元官网网址檚 entrepreneurial titans. Al made his name by starting Jackson Grills, a brand of quality barbecues that quickly expanded across North America from its humble roots in the Duncan area. After selling the company to a Lower Mainland-based buyer in 2011, Al pivoted to the booming housing sector, where he got started developing traditional B次元官网网址渟tick-builtB次元官网网址� single-detached homes.

Nexus Modular represents the culmination of his experience to date, merging the efficiencies of warehouse manufacturing with the need to meet a changing housing market.

B次元官网网址淚 came from a process-based manufacturing background and have kept that factory methodology in the back of my mind this whole time,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淣exus is whatB次元官网网址檚 called a volumetric modular manufacturer. This means we build finished housing with the appliances in place, tiles on the wall, flooring in and cabinetry all done. So, itB次元官网网址檚 basically just place the home, connect it to services and move your furniture in. The idea behind doing this is to keep all the trades under one roof and help us improve efficiencies of cost and timing.B次元官网网址�

This year marks Nexus ModularB次元官网网址檚 expansion from its original location in Chemainus to a 16,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Cobble Hill. The new headquarters enables each of the tradespeople, craftsmen and designers to work on multiple projects simultaneously under a single roof. The convenience minimizes travel time, eliminates weather-related holdups, and reduces waste associated with the building process. It also makes good business sense as it allows Nexus ModularB次元官网网址檚 projects to go from inception to completion in a mere 120 days, with only a few days of actual on-site time for delivery of the finished product. For houses built within what he calls the companyB次元官网网址檚 sweet spotB次元官网网址攂etween roughly 400 and 1,700 square feetB次元官网网址擜l confidently boasts that a factory-built home can be 10 to 20 per cent less expensive than a conventional home.

The past few months have seen Nexus Modular working alongside the Cowichan Housing Association to provide local housing options for those who need it the most. The company has also worked with Cowichan Tribes to build upwards of 34 units of housing in a multi-family setting.

Although Nexus can provide suitable and affordable options for a variety of commercial and industrial projects, Al says, the company is housing-focussed. Whether a property owner is looking for a principal residence or looking to add an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to an established site, Nexus Modular has the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of requests.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 lots of options, absolutely,B次元官网网址� Al says. B次元官网网址淲e do a lot of home offices, yoga studios, farm standsB次元官网网址攁ll of those types of applications. We are also involved in multi-family projects, laneway houses and farm-worker housing. WeB次元官网网址檝e got the ability to look at projects outside of housing and see how the modular approach can fit those situations, but our growth moving forward is housing-focussed. The single- and multi-family units are absolutely our core business.B次元官网网址�

And donB次元官网网址檛 let talk of manufactured homes stir up images of drab, utilitarian prefabricated clones. A quick look at some of the companyB次元官网网址檚 completed projects around Southern Vancouver Island or on the Nexus Modular website reveals a stylish and contemporary look that features efficiently designed layouts to make that smaller footprint feel larger.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the cool things about having our in-house design team is that we can control the project,B次元官网网址� Al says. B次元官网网址淭his allows us to create a very traditional product or a very contemporary product. We can really tailor the look and feel of the product to the homeownerB次元官网网址檚 needs.

B次元官网网址淎nd because we are a Vancouver Island company serving a Vancouver Island base, we have that ability to have that in-person, one-on-one consultation with all of our clients so we can walk the homeowner through the entire process.B次元官网网址�

More details at

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on