The city is stepping up its effort to allow the construction of modular homes that would be temporarily erected on city and private lots for the homeless, families seeking affordable housing and artists.

Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang said the city will soon issue a call to companies interested in designing and building pre-fabricated homes. Cost, location, size and number of units has to be decided, Jang said. "That's the whole point of doing this," he told the Courier. "Everybody says it's cheaper to build modular, but is it? So by having proposals come forward, we can actually do the math and look at it."

The public will get a chance to review the designs before city council decides whether to proceed with a more detailed request for proposals. Jang said he wasn't sure how residents will react. "Will neighbourhoods accept them? I don't know," he said, adding that more information on what he calls a research project will be available in the fall. "We want to make sure there is full public consultation. You just can't throw this stuff anywhere. We don't want a huge city going up."

Typical modular homes range from small construction-style trailers to larger townhouse-style housing, complete with kitchens, washroom facilities and laundry. They are built in sections at a factory or onsite and can be easily moved.

The push to add modular homes to the city's housing stock would fill the gap between shelters and permanent housing, Jang said. While providing housing for the homeless is a key priority, modular homes should be open to people on low incomes and struggling artists, he said.

"We've had other folks who just want affordable housing--something that they can rent cheaply for a few years while they save their money and get into the market. So it's looking at a whole spectrum of folks, not just the homeless, because we've got to keep the folks who are low income from becoming homeless."

City staff are identifying city sites that could accommodate modular homes, and Jang said private property owners have contacted him about providing land. Jang envisions the homes could remain on a piece of property for five to 10 years.

The provincial government is responsible for building affordable housing in the province. But Jang said he didn't anticipate costs to the province or city, except for providing land and taking care of permits for builders.

Chris Gardner, executive vice-president of Britco Structures, said his company is interested in building modular homes for the city. But Gardner said that will hinge on requirements set out by the city.

"Without seeing the [request for proposal], it's hard for us to say whether it would make sense to go forward and put in a proposal," he said when asked how his company would make money in the deal. "With most social housing projects, the government is the source of operating dollars in cooperation and partnership with non-profit organizations. But we'd be excited to be at the table and talk with lots of folks about how we can be creative to develop a solution that's going to work."

The total cost would also depend on the number of units required, the quality of the contents and whether Britco could build onsite. Britco has worked with B.C. Housing on various projects, including manufacturing 320 rooms used by athletes and officials in Whistler for the 2010 Winter Games.

The units have been disassembled and relocated to six municipalities in the province, including Chilliwack and Surrey, where they are being converted to permanent social housing.

Britco has also built daycares, hotels, motels, lodges, logging camp facilities and the current PNE prize home, which was assembled in six modules and will be moved to Kelowna.

mhowell@vancourier.com