Northern Ontario town plans to build 300 modular homes per year with new factory

Plans to build a modular housing factory in the northern Ontario town of Iroquois Falls are a "game changer", according to the community's mayor.

"We lost our (paper) mill eight years ago and so this will be the biggest announcement in the last 100 years for Iroquois Falls," said Mayor Tory Delaurier.

The town has partnered with a company called Due North Housing to host a new modular housing factory, which Delaurier said will create more than 150 local jobs.

If it's not a challenge in Sweden, it shouldn't be a challenge in Ontario.- Alexander Bimman, Due North Housing president and CEO

As part of the agreement, the company will also build a new subdivision with 150 housing units at a site that was formerly a snow dump.

"So this will create a lot of employment and spin-off jobs to other industries," Delaurier said."They're also going to be our anchor tenant for our new industrial park that we want to pursue."

Delaurier said that apart from some early engineering surveys, the project will come at no extra cost for the town.

Due North Housing will be able to apply for federal and provincial grants available for new housing initiatives.

Alexander Bimman, the president and CEO of Due North Housing, said that in its first phase their housing factory will have capacity to build 300 modular homes per year.

"That for Canada is a substantial number," he said.

"As you know, there are maybe a few Toronto builders that build a few thousand homes a year, but there is no such capacity in the north."

Bimman said modular homes first gained popularity in Sweden, and saidthe homes will be well adapted to northern Ontario's climate.

"If it's not a challenge in Sweden, it shouldn't be a challenge in Ontario," he said.

Bimman said the company chose Iroquois Falls for its factory because the town is home to Ontario's second largest timber holdings.

His company has been working closely with nearby First Nations to collaborate on job and housing opportunities.