Much like the 10-year NHL vet who purposely chooses to shoot 1,000 pucks after practice, Perdip Moore knows the value of persistence and playing the long game.
As the senior project manager of PD Moore Homes, it is exactly those traits that allows his firm to build laneway homes, duplexes and affordable rental units that feature fixed-price construction costs catering to the missing middle demographics in Burnaby and Vancouver.
Moore was one of the early adopters of laneway housing construction when the boom began more than a decade ago and is among the most experienced builders in this space.
And because of his long-standing relationships with building trades, Moore offers fixed-price solutions that take the guesswork out of any project.
“It’s like anything you do in any industry, if you specialize in it, as time goes by you just get better at it,” Moore explains. “We’ve built so many of these laneway homes now, that us, our trades and our design teams have learned how to maximize every nook and cranny of these homes.”
Picture the laneway home as the ideal space for empty nesters, multi-generational families or others wanting to generate rental income.
These are 1,500 square foot homes that can unite parents, kids and grandparents who grew up in Vancouver or Burnaby but moved further afield due to cost pressures.
Speaking of cost pressures, Moore’s homes cost 40 to 50 per cent less than a condo or townhome and come without the requisite strata fees or insurance costs. Elevators, confined spaces or living among strangers is replaced with a communal setting on a ground floor that’s healthier and more liveable.
“A lot of my friends who are around my age in their 40s say to me, ‘Perdip, you got lucky because you have a home and we still don’t.’ When I have those conversations, it’s pretty heartbreaking to me, so we have set out to build homes that the average person can afford,” Moore says.
And while Burnaby only approved laneway homes in late September, PD Moore Homes already has four projects on the go. The most notable of those projects will see Burnaby’s first social housing laneway home built for Aunt Leah’s Place, a non-profit that has helped kids in foster care and young mothers achieve a better future for three decades.
On a personal level, Moore’s commitment to providing affordable living cuts deep.
As the son of immigrants, Moore remembers his father struggling at times to have his family settle in Canada. The first family home saw the Moores living in an unfinished basement while renting out the top floor to make the finances work.
“I want my kids and their kids to look at me and say ‘Dad came from having no home to not only getting us a home, but then he went out there to try and help other people achieve that dream,’” Moore says.
