Co-founder of https://xitter.gq/t.co/T4iJoS0QqW and a passionate city builder. love middle housing and interested in how we build more fair, resilient and equitable cities.
Calgary, Alberta
Joined October 2020
- Tweets3.4K
- Following509
- Followers7.7K
- Likes4.1K
Pinned Tweet
A simple build that I am incredibly proud of, which is often called “the missing middle.” Eight units on a 6,000 sqft parcel would have historically been one or two homes if redeveloped. I’m proud because the secondary suites have housed students, new immigrants and refugees, to name a few, while keeping them close to amenities and not requiring vehicles! The townhomes provide opportunities for families and empty nesters to stay inner city close to the core rather than depart for the suburbs. This right here is my jam and can have a significant impact on the housing crisis.
Time flies! Thirteen years ago, I jumped on a plane and flew to Ontario. I drove rural and found some reclaimed barnwood and used it for both the exterior and interior flooring on various projects. It was pre-weathered and kiln-dried, but it needed to acclimate. I miss those days.
2 older homes
90 x 135 ft lot
Become 16 homes + a commercial unit.
12 3 bedroom 🏡.
4/1 bedroom 🏡.
8 onsite parking.
14 bike stalls.
Public art piece.
This is middle housing and what it can do for our communities.
Started a new series with my daughter Ara. She is 8. She notices plants, insects, and her dad’s ADHD. We walk neighbourhoods and talk about housing. Turns out kids have a lot to say about where people live and mansions (spoiler she still kinda wants one I think 😂)
youtube.com/shorts/bPlTRUBp1…
Been following a lot of the modular convo. Prefab vs volumetric, but implementation and cost continue to be the critical constraints. But these are cool. Our commonplace out of Vancouver. Bungalows. Age in place, compounds.Excited about this and excited to test it out.
The infill summit 2026 was awesome!great to hear from all the folks who are working to move infill forward in California. Can’t help but feel momentum is building.
@mottsmith
@ToddGloria killed it. Sounds like San Diego is all things housing! Thanks for the cool hat @cayimby
Window shrouds are probably the most underrated articulation detail in residential architecture. This project has a lot of thoughtful moves but the volumes are repeated with smart material transitions. Sometimes the restraint is the detail.
Too many row homes forget to turn the corner.
Turn the corner. Orientate both street and avenue.
This one by Gravity Architecture does it well.
Policy and zoning create permission. Not housing. Too many cities riddle that permission with additional requirements without understanding the cumulative impact. We end up further back than where we started.
This is one of the largest fractures in the ecosystem. The gap between what a city says it wants and what it actually makes possible is where housing goes to die. Permitting timelines, fees, off street parking requirements, design guidelines that add cost without adding value. Every layer feels reasonable in isolation. Together they make the math not work.
You cannot solve a housing crisis with one hand while making it harder to build with the other.
Looking for San Jose-based infill developers, small architecture firms, or urban planners. I’m also looking to connect with city contacts to explore a new collaboration and funding opportunity focused on housing.
Would love any intros or connections!
This doesn’t look scary to me. Am I missing something?
WATCH THIS. This is what allowing R-CG on three consecutive lots looks like. Imagine this at the end of every block, on either side of the street. [the rear units are missing from this video]
FULL REPEAL with no amendments, please. Followed by a reset back to R-C1 & R-C2.
And then restart the engagement process and involve community residents. We are the experts in our neighbourhood.
#yyc #yyccc
Heading to Chicago and Kalamazoo next week! Anyone wanna chop it up about middle housing in Illinois!
We supported the city of Kelowna in collaboration with a few different architect to launch their preapproved plans.
- Fixed cost on incredible designs some with modular!
- find out if eligible through mddl GiS tool
- 10 day building permit approved
kelowna.ca/homes-building/pr…
@KahlonRav would love to work together with the province and bring our tool to more cities across British Columbia!
Was in a meeting yesterday and someone told me “Middle Housing is Dead”.
You can’t put the tooth paste back.
I’ve been a long believer that it has to be iterative. We can’t constrain something the market is desperately asking for and needs. It’s just starting.
Great reminder. Authenticity + openness + abundance always pays dividends. Share freely and it comes back 10x. Keep crushing it @realEstateTrent 🙏🏾
I'll never forget this moment, and frankly I have tears in my eyes right now.
I had a call scheduled today with a retail broker who wanted to share a deal with me.
When the call started, he asked if he could share something with me.
A binder appeared, and he started telling me that since his sophomore year in college he has been printing out my posts, and studying them.
He aggregates the posts by subject, adds his notes, and even has a table of contents.
As the call went on, he knew exactly what I was looking for in the deal.
He jumped right into the price per foot, the tenant mix, and touched on all the attributes he knows I am looking for.
He's now a year into his brokerage career, and happens to be one of the most impressive young brokers I have ever met.
The truth is, when I post here I do not know who's on the other side of that screen.
You often feel like you're yelling into a dark void, and only ever hear from a very small percentage of the people who read the posts - or from the people here to knock you down.
And then one day out of nowhere you come across people like Charles Lewis.
Charles, our call today meant more than you know.
You're intelligent, thoughtful, and carry yourself like you've been in the business for a decade.
You are going to have an incredible career.
Always here if you need anything, and I hope you can join us at the Gala April 23rd!
