The Challenge in Building Affordable Housing

The people behind ENM Construction Management are a witness to the ever-changing demands of the rental market. Housing in Canada present many challenges, one of them is breaking up concentrations of low-income families by providing them with the same opportunities as other families.

Our founding partners, Colin Lacey and Daniel Greenhalgh created ENM Construction Management with the primary goal of supporting the community and helping out those who are in need. Hence, we consistently strive to partner with organizations that aim to build affordable housing. However, building affordable housing can be a complicated business.

• Quality housing is expensive
Real estate developers need to make a profit to provide the housing demands of Canadians. However, this is in contrast with the goal to provide affordable housing to community members. A household with insufficient financial resources may experience difficulty in securing a safe and affordable house.


• Affordability of housing is complicated
With the vast physical and human geography in Canada, there is a rising inequality gap that is present between high and low-income families. There are few metrics by which we can measure the affordability of housing. It’s important to understand that the available metrics are not always applicable from market to market and the inequality of cost between these two markets is very wide; how affordability is measured in Vancouver is not the same as it is measured in Fort St. John.


• Supply market changes relative to housing price changes
Supply-constrained markets result in increased land prices which inevitably drives up housing prices. When this happens, unresponsive housing markets cause price volatility and demand shocks, affecting residential investment. Currently, our local housing market is not sustainable if we hope that the average family can own a home in the future.

These are just some of the challenges encountered in building affordable housing. Now, let us discuss how ENM Construction Management works around to surpass these challenges.

Affordable housing development can improve the lives of residents and support the local workforce by providing well-constructed, decent housing while promoting social interaction and boosting a community’s economic wealth.

Here at ENM Construction Management, we aim to bring housing options to the community which is often accomplished by increasing density – more units per acre of land. This fuels our dedication to partner with organizations that build affordable housing projects.

Working with a Dedicated Team

We believe that each building that we construct is a representation of our firm. Hence, we treat every construction project as our own. Our team developed a systematic approach, making sure that each phase is carefully executed.



The Passion for Creating

Our team is fueled by the passion for creating buildings and housing that are functional, aesthetically pleasing, and suitable to our clients' needs.



More than Just a Project

We implement custom strategies and design guidelines that developers and designers can follow to incorporate community building into their plans.

Following the footsteps of one of our co-founders, Dan Greenhalgh, we always put the community’s needs on top of our construction projects. We aim to empower our residents by creating spaces that fit current lifestyle trends.

As part of our dedication to help improve the lives of community members, we publish articles on a regular basis. Subscribe now to our newsletter, and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and news in the construction industry.