Calgary company brings tiny homes to residents

A Calgary company donated six tiny house structures to unhoused residents of the Moccasin Flats encampments just before Christmas.

Volunteers in Prince George led by Brad Gustafson and Phillip Fredriksson have taken it upon themselves to build shelter structures for unhoused residents living in the encampment.

Reto Steiner, CEO of InGreen Building Systems, heard what they were doing and wanted to help.

“We were approached out of the blue to two weeks ago from a businessman in Calgary, who owns and operates structural insulated panel (SIP) manufacturing plants,” explained Gustafson.

InGreen Building Systems develops and manufactures SIPs, which are high-performance building panels that consist of a rigid foam core insulation bonded between two structurally rated skins of OSB sheathing.

Steiner and his team used this technology to create six tiny homes, which they put on a flatbed truck and transported to Prince George.

“We thought it was too good to be true. Our jaws hit the floor because we’ve been talking to countless organizations and well-meaning individuals and businesses, but it has always never come to anything,” said Gustaftson. “Hats off to Reto Steiner because he’s just a wonderful individual with a very generous heart willing to help out so we are very grateful for him and his entire company and everything they’ve been able to do.”

He said a 600 sq ft structure constructed with SIPs can use as little as $30 per month in power for heat in the middle of winter and the structures will even retain warmth just from an occupant’s body heat.

“These things will have a bed in them. That’s essentially what they are - they’re safe, secure and there will be locks on the doors,” he said.

“We also we also know that fires can be a bit of a problem in these situations, so we coat the inside with a fire retardant. You can never eliminate the possibility – but we’re trying to just keep the residents safe from both hazards and for their privacy.”

He noted that the units are totally transportable, as well. They can sit on the ground indefinitely or be moved somewhere else without much effort.

Steiner has used this technology to build tiny homes for a few communities in northern Alberta as well, however, those projects were supported with government funding.

“Brad and Phillip were dedicated to this, they didn’t want to do this for any other reason than the community needed this product, and we empathized with that and said we will help you out,” he said.

“I think Prince George has been trying to do this and the politics and the bureaucracy that gets wrapped up around it is what it is.”

In mid-November, the City of Prince George issued a stop work order on the tiny homes as the shelters Gustafson and Fredriksson were not up to code.

Mayor Simon Yu said it was a liability issue for the city as the structures do not have building permits.

However, the volunteers were determined to keep the project going and continue building the tiny homes regardless.

“In this case, we just looked at it and said we can turn these around quickly and we can get you a solution. We happen to have some product right here on the ground. Let’s just do this. It’s the right thing to do and let’s make it happen,” said Steiner.

“Just do the right thing. If there’s something we can do to help, then why aren’t we doing it?”

He said he hopes this donation will build momentum for the tiny home project with more supporters coming on board.

Including the six donated tiny homes, Gustafson and Fredriksson will have completed about 15 structures so far.