TINY BUT MIGHTY
Billed as Edmonton's smallest laneway home, Cliff House is set to make stylish statement
Put two passionate local professionals from the land development sector together and what do you get?
A unique offspring, which early next year will become one of Edmonton's most distinctive laneway homes.
Married couple Kairi Pawlick and Marty Pawlina, who work at Canada Lands Co. and Rohit Land Development, respectively, are not only excited about their new undertaking, they're also thrilled to be able to give others the opportunity to enjoy the urban lifestyle of living near the downtown core.
Years back, Pawlick and Pawlina bought a walkout bungalow in Riverdale built in 1910. Situated on a reasonably sized lot, the house faces Riverdale Park with its south side offering impressive views of the river valley and the North Saskatchewan River.
“We have lots of beautiful light being south facing, and it's on a hill so it has this elevation,” said Pawlina, adding that with Riverdale being so close to downtown, they can enjoy all the amenities it offers. “We want to provide opportunities for other people to try that urban lifestyle, too.”
They'll do that when their project, dubbed Cliff House, being positioned as a rental unit, becomes a reality. And at 368 square feet, it's being billed as Edmonton's smallest laneway home, a two-storey structure with the residential unit atop a single vehicle garage.
Exterior features include classic, round half siding layered in a mosaic with textured shades of grey. There will also be contrasting brick and steel elements. The interior, meanwhile, is inspired by New York loft living: exposed brick, high ceilings, steel beams and a mezzanine open to below that is accessed via a custom sliding library ladder.
Working with a team experienced in laneway homes, the couple hired Timber Haus Developments as the builder, and Space Squared to design it. But before they could enter the picture, Pawlick and Pawlina needed to acquire a piece of land adjacent to their property.
As the couple puts it, there was a remnant parcel belonging to the city that was designated for utility purposes. But it turns out the city never used it and it became available. They purchased it and had it consolidated to their lot, enabling them to move forward.
“Now with our lot being a bit bigger, we could build a laneway home,” said Pawlina.
“Marty and I have always been a fan of garden suites and garage suites, and we actually did some of the early training with Yegarden Suites,” said Pawlick, noting laneway homes are a great way to add density to Edmonton's core communities.
“We looked at some plans and said, `hey, we can do it,' so let's start designing something.”
Those plans include a solar array on the roof, and giving the interior the feel of a luxury rental.
“Small space design always comes with its restrictions, but if you go small, you just have to go creative and that's what I love,” said Space Squared's German Antonio Gomez Decuir.
“The inspiration of the project was by our own choice to live in downtown Edmonton,” the couple said. “Cliff House is about creating an opportunity for others to try out urban living and experience the benefits of living a less car-dependent lifestyle in one of Edmonton's best infill communities.”
The couple's builder, Timber Haus, has been on the forefront of building these types of homes.
“It's very unique, there's nothing like it in Edmonton,” said John Wilson, vice-president of Timber Haus, noting it will be the skinniest laneway home at only 13.5 feet wide.
Shovels should go into the ground in January. It should take four months to complete.
“The views are going to be incredible,” said Wilson. “The way they have it situated, the colours that they have picked, it will blend in quite nicely to Edmonton's river valley and be quite a complementary piece that will contribute quite a lot to the downtown skyline.”
SMALL IS COMING ON BIG
According to Yegarden Suites, a non-profit organization serving homeowners interested in building garden suites, the number of these types of homes are on the rise.
There were around 150 such homes in 2016 and now there are about 400, with some 60 to 70 new ones built annually. “This particular year we're projecting around 85,” said Ashley Salvador, the organization president and co-founder.
Most are being built in mature neighbourhoods like Bonnie Doon, Highlands, Ritchie and Westmount, but some are popping up in new neighbourhoods like Rosenthal as developers realize that garden suites are an attractive product.
Many are built for rental purposes, but since COVID-19, there has been a big uptick in interest from a family perspective, said Salvador — building to have family close by; they have their own space but they're right next door.