From the Toronto Star, via J99 News:
In about two weeks, the two-story two-story laneway suite that replaced Tabatha Southey’s garage will be ready for her son and his fiance to move into.
She says the 1,000-square-foot self-contained home, which cost about $ 560,000 to build and build, could just as easily house herself, her parents or a tenant.
It is among about 50 houses that Torontonians have built in their backyards since the city passed a bylaws in 2018 that allow the construction of another home on plots that return to alleys.
Southey’s laneway house has been a love affair designed to merge with the character of the Cabbagetown house where she has lived for 28 years. Her contractor, a neighbor – Mark Pelzi from Sumach Contracting – even went looking for matching bricks.
One of the best things about building the house, says Southey, a writer, is that it means more people will share her beloved neighborhood.
“This is two people more or three more people living in my neighborhood to go to (the local pub) House on Parliament and get a pint and support the other local businesses I love,” she said.