Jake Fry
Jake started Smallworks in late 2005 and became a strong advocate for the introduction of laneway housing. He established Smallworks Studios and Laneway Housing Inc. and worked with the City of Vancouver and other municipalities to help develop zoning by-laws based on his experience and interaction with literally hundreds of potential small home clients.Today, Jake focuses on finding new ways to broaden the range of housing types in Vancouver to create affordable options for single-family home ownership.
Questions Asked and Answered
Let’s dive in at middle housing. Recently, duplexes were allowed by right on single family zoned properties in Vancouver. Can you tell us about that?
Do have any data on how that’s been utilized since it’s been adopted. So, what is the functional difference between a secondary suite with a primary dwelling, and a duplex.
Are laneway cottages allowed with a duplex?
CA, Seattle, and soon Portland, are allowing two ADUs. Since Vancouver has more history with allowing two ADUs per lot, can you share any useful insights that practitioners should consider with this type of change?
When there is a whole site redevelopment project, are developers compelled to add a secondary suite-ready building?
What other cities in Canada are making good strides towards opening up their zoning code to allow for more housing types?
What additional changes would you like to see occur with the residential code in terms of middle housing options?
Vancouver’s prices are equivalent to Bay Area prices. How do you think ADUs fit into the economic sustainability of Vancouver?
What is the common homebuyer’s attitude toward ADU potential on a property that they’re purchasing?
How many laneway homes has SmallWorks built?
Would you classify SmallWorks design as a design/build? Or, is most of your work using standardized models?