In the 1990s decade, about 6,000 Grow Homes were built in Montreal, and as many across Canada and the USA. For Montreal architects Avi Friedman and Witold Rybczynski, the originators of the Grow Home, it became their landmark project of the ’90s. The World Habitat Awards organization was also very pleased with Grow Home and granted Friedman, a McGill University professor, a prestigious award, in 1999, for his innovative home-building concept meant to provide homeownership for low-income households and first-time home buyers.
The key features of the original Grow Home? An affordable, narrow 1,200-square-foot, 3-level townhouse that would “grow” with the owners. Forget the turnkey build: the buyer of a Grow Home could opt for an unfinished basement or an unpartitioned second floor (or both) to complete at a later date, as the need arose and their bank account grew. Hence, the growing phase. Turned out that most Grow Home owners ended up finishing their basement or second floor, often by themselves, as new skills were learned. With a narrow design, more units could be built on the same lot, saving on land-development expenses. Four or five units were built under one roof, saving on building costs, too. Uncomplicated rooflines and simple construction methods boast the package envisioned by the Montreal architects. However, it didn’t mean cheap finishing, as masonry was used for exterior siding, and units were well soundproofed. The interior layout was optimized, as well, with a single-facade window or a balcony on the second floor—another key feature of the Grow Home.
Fast-forward 20 years: Whitehorse contractors began building townhouses bearing the Friedman signature, knowingly or not. In the 2010s decade, these new townhouses sprung up from the ground in newly developed areas of Porter Creek and Crestview. To this day, units are still being built in the Brookside Development in Crestview. Despite matching the original design from the outside, some features of the Grow Home were dropped once they were built North of 60.
Many Whitehorse versions of the Grow Home were built larger than the initial 14′ x 36′ plotted by Friedman, trending with a larger dwelling size all across North America. The average U.S. newly-built house in 1990 was 2,000 sq. ft. It had jumped just shy of 2,700 sq. ft. by 2015. Canadian houses followed similar trajectories. At 1,200 sq. ft., the 1990 basic Grow Home model had one bathroom and a compact kitchen, while 2010’s Whitehorse versions have multiple bathrooms, walk-in closets and a kitchen island.
The idea of “growing” with the house was also scrapped in Whitehorse. Instead, buyers got keys to a finished two-storey townhouse plus a fully functional basement. The idea that a young couple or a small family would want to finish their basement at their own pace and budget was replaced with a fully finished basement rental suite or, in some cases, a semi-suite with a shared kitchen upstairs. It meant an increase of living units under one roof, and possible rental income. For Whitehorse buyers, it also meant a much-larger purchase price, but it was still reasonable for three finished floors. The Grow Home of the 1990s could be built for around $40,000 and be sold for twice as much, depending how move-in-ready you wanted it to be. According to the Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator, it would amount to a $160,000 price tag in 2023 dollars.
Still recovering from succeeding recessions, the 1990’s Canadian housing industry jumped both feet in with Friedman’s concept of an affordable townhouse. Serious inflation in the early 1990s had people squeezed, with ever-increasing rent, and willing to consider owning a home, even with a mortgage rate averaging 8 per cent. At the same time, big and small governments had reduced the social-housing investment for low-income families. It was a breath of fresh air for the housing industry where buyers could sustainably buy their own home. Small, private contractors had a larger customer pool. Win-win.
As we are seeing a similar trend in inflation and mortgage rates, these days, we may want (up here in the North) to revisit the Grow Home.
