Northern BC Project Could Be Blueprint For Canada’s $25B Modular Push

Developer Gordon Wylie, known for his work on projects like the Oakridge Mall revamp and the Metrotown Centre expansion, has turned his attention to a new kind of housing in Prince Rupert, B.C. He is leading a 40 unit rental project called Estrella using modular construction. This method means that individual units are built in a factory, then transported to the site and assembled. The goal is to test whether this way of building can work efficiently on a larger scale.

Modular or volumetric housing comes with several advantages. The units are made in a factory environment where the temperature is controlled and machines help build precisely. Some units even have furniture built in like Murphy beds. Because of the precision and controlled conditions, these modules tend to be energy efficient and quicker to build compared with traditional methods.

In this case, Wylie and his team worked with modular experts from the start. Rather than adapting a regular design into modular form later, they designed the project for modular construction from day one. Modules were produced in Winkler, Manitoba, and stacked on the site in Prince Rupert in just five days. The building is expected to be ready for tenants before the end of 2025.

This pilot project aligns with a major federal government housing plan. The government has promised 25 billion dollars in loans and 1 billion dollars in equity support to help scale up the prefabricated construction industry across Canada. The plan also includes creating standard housing designs that work well with modular building methods. Wylie says that scaling up is key, sending a clear signal, training more people, and building knowledge will make modular housing more efficient and cost effective.

But some challenges remain. Traditional construction financing tends to release money in batches as each building phase finishes. That doesn’t match well with factory orders which require large payments up front. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recently began allowing loan insurance for modular construction which is opening doors. The team behind Estrella also relied on a provincial low interest housing loan program to get the project going.

Wylie believes that many developers shy away from modular because they find it too expensive or don’t understand it. His team approached the project with a deep understanding of modular design and took out middlemen to lower costs. They see Estrella in Prince Rupert as a learning opportunity, a small scale test to build a pathway toward bigger, faster, and more affordable modular housing across Canada.