02/03/2026
In the sprit of no regrets and trying my best to not to limit us by my desire to get everything perfect, I wanted to share about a mission that has been percolating in our hearts this past month. Here is an email that I sent out searching for suggestions on resources that could help us with moving forward with our 2026 Mission:
Good morning
I hope you've had a great start to 2026.
Bob and I have been on a bit of a journey over the past month and I am feeling super excited and aligned with a path that has unfolded in front of us.
Through designing our workshop/office building for our own property, we have realized that we came up with a super affordable option for a smaller home or detached suite. Our goal is to create an option that we can offer (before services) for $250k, but we still have some fine tuning to do in designs and options before we get to that point.
I am reaching out to you to see if you can direct me to any resources that would be supportive to our new mission. I feel like the past 18 years in the construction industry has been leading us to this and I am so excited to combine our skillsets and careers with something that really contributes back into our community.
From a construction standpoint, I feel like Bob and I have this covered and can fine tune how to create smart designs and construction processes to make affordable options.
The main area that I am searching for support in is:
How to create affordable land. To really make a difference in the community, I believe we need to figure out how to offer affordable houses on affordable land. In my mind, the only way I am seeing this is by purchasing land and stratifying it in a very cost effective way, but there could be options out there that I am unaware of.
Maybe there is a Planner that could support us with understanding what land options would best serve this cause or maybe you are aware of other Developers in the community that you could direct us to that would be in alignment with having a passion to create affordable housing. Or if anything else pops in your mind, we would be grateful for any suggestions.
I was also going to ask about the survey that the CVRD did within the past couple years about the housing needs, but I think I found the results.
https://www.planyourcowichan.ca/housing-needs-assessment
I was scanning through the results and feel so validated in what I've been seeing and hearing and what people in the community are really desiring.
I really want to cut all of the waste out of land development and residential construction and figure out how utilize resources to their fullest to offer homes to community members for a reasonable and achievable price.
So grateful for any suggestions or directions you have to offer.
Kind regards,
Lisa Thomson
Co-Founder & COO
O: 250.746.8808
[email protected]
If anyone has any suggestions on ways we can achieve more affordable land options, we are all ears!
As we have been sharing about this idea with everyone we come across, it is amazing to see how many different life circumstances would thrive with a smaller and more affordable home:
*Individuals and families looking for more affordable options
*People who have retired and are looking to downsize
*People who have split up with their partner and are looking for a more affordable home to invest in on their own
*People with land, with the ability to add a secondary dwelling for their own children or to create rental income
*People with land, with the ability to add a secondary dwelling for themselves and then their children can move into their larger home or they could rent out the larger home
*People who purchase land and want to build their smaller secondary dwelling first and wait to build their larger dream home in the future
If this is something that resonates with you, pick up the phone and give us a call. We are happy to explore ideas with you to see what we can create together.