CITIES IN FLUX
Garage Businesses
— Kristen Spruit
How the most undervalued piece of home real estate might instigate entrepreneurship and creative businesses.
Laneway Village illustration © Studio North.
The garage, one of the most undervalued pieces of real estate, might also be one of the most underestimated locations for Calgary entrepreneurs to test their small business ideas. No commute; no conventional commercial real estate leasing cost; less risk. These are only a few of the perks of living and working from home. While home-based businesses and offices are not a new concept, it is an idea that deserves more attention. Stories abound of companies making their start from humble beginnings. From Steve Jobs and his business partner starting the now multimillion dollar company Apple out of Jobs’ parents’ garage in the late ‘70s, to Walt Disney repurposing his garage into a film studio in the early 1920s, and the Harley-Davidson company making its start out of a garage factory in the early 1900s, these classic examples show how the garage shouldn’t be viewed as a “humble beginning,” but rather a convenient and affordable option for startups.
Many Calgary entrepreneurs have had success with converting their garages into business space. Local architect Mark Erickson is a prime example. In 2013, fresh out of university, Erickson and his business partner Matthew Kennedy started their design-and-build firm Studio North out of a parent’s garage. Like many small business owners, Erickson and Kennedy were beaming with ideas, but somewhat limited on funds. The garage provided two essential characteristics business owners seek: unrestrained control of the space, and affordability with maximum convenience. In the last four years, Studio North’s success has warranted a move to a bigger location in Kensington. But, the original garage space, says Erickson, served its purpose as a testing ground, and for others it can “act as a seed.”
“It’s a place for a small business to start, and if it takes off, the owners can look at other optionsdown the line.” The garage is a way to make new, and possibly better use of an existing space — space that, for many, is not being used to its fullest potential. Statistics show that in the last few years, particularly since the downturn in the economy, the trend of repurposing different unused spaces of the home has been on the rise. Statistics Canada reported in 2016 that in the second quarter alone in Alberta, renovation spending had increased by 4.7 per cent year-on-over. In roughly the first half of 2016, $3.1-billion was spent on residential renovations in Alberta, which encompassed home-office renovations (Globe and Mail). For many, the move home makes the most financial sense.
Since 2012, the team at Studio North have been building on the individual garage-based business model, and have developed a conceptual idea entitled, The Laneway Village. The rendering below depicts individually owned and operated garage-based businesses clustered into a condensed area. Whether each garage space is used for retail, business or office purposes, the essential characteristics of control, affordability and convenience remain.
“It could be a carpenter using the space to make and sell furniture, or an artist making handmade ceramics, or a bike repair shop, a yoga studio or for someone to set up a home office for whatever purpose. It could even be rented to someone else looking to start up a small business. It’s a place to see if you can make your hobby your living,” says Erickson, adding that it is a way of adding density and another layer of fabric to the city without demolishing old buildings and installing cookie-cutter clones in their place.
The concept of the Laneway Village is suitable for detached garages that face a back alley, ideally located in transit-oriented development areas of the city. Being within 100 metres of a transit station allows customers easy access. The team at Studio North see the alley which connects the garages as more than just a back lane for trash pickup, but instead, a lane is preexisting infrastructure that could be converted for more community benefit. Areas of the city like Inglewood, Bridgeland, Kensington and Ramsay would be conducive, as patrons would be encouraged to use public transit or to walk and bike to and within the Laneway Village, reducing the amount of traffic within the residential area.
The Laneway Village allows business owners the same affordability and flexibility offered from a home workspace, while at the same time creating a community amongst business owners and a revived public space in the alley that connects the various garages. This sort of community could facilitate an environment where foot traffic is encouraged and preferred.
“Where cars are no longer allowed, there is a different intimacy with the space and human scale matters way more,” says Erickson. He witnessed this effect while living and working in The Gambia in 2012. He was inspired by the way that the local families living around him in the same enclosed community turned the front of their homes into small storefronts and used the space to sell a myriad products and services. Because the “storefronts” faced a back lane that was closed off to vehicles, the lane became a pedestrian-friendly, social space.
“You could walk the street and get everything you needed from all different families with different skill sets, says Erickson, adding that he hopes the Laneway Village would entail these same characteristics.
Whereas in The Gambia the home business is an act of self-sufficiency and survival, in Calgary it can be replicated to serve many purposes. It makes environmental and business sense. Working from home is one step towards reducing the number of cars on the road — falling inline with the Government of Alberta’s recent climate change initiatives encouraging thoughtful carbon use. Less cars on the road and more people at home also counteracts the observed fact that neighbourhoods become ghost towns for eight or nine hours a day when people commute elsewhere to work. The Laneway Village promotes a community lifestyle that is active at all times of the day, not simply evenings and weekends.
Additionally, according to the Calgary Economic Development’s program WORKshift, which advocates working from home, the traditional 9 to 5 workday is on its way out. Between 20 and 33% of Canadians say that their most productive hours of the day occur before 9 a.m. or extend past 5 p.m., with a conventional office not necessarily being the most productive place to work. WORKshift research shows that work engagement increases by 89% when employees are given flexibility with their work location, including the ability to work from home. And, 97% of Canadian employees say they would like to continue to have the opportunity to work remotely and with flexible hours (WORKshift).
Some of Calgary’s garage-based business owners echoed these sentiments in their reasoning for utilizing garage space for their startups. Affordability and flexibility were key factors for business owners Ryan Fairweather and Phillip Bandura to “move home.” The duo founded the collaborative studio Bee Kingdom Glass in 2004 in Bandura’s mother’s garage. Having just graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design, the artists were anxious to put their creative talents to work.
“The garage was the only option for us since we had next to no money for a retail space and no business experience,” Fairweather says. “It gave us the flex time and a budget to experiment and learn how to run the studio full time.”
Located at 427-22 Ave NW, the studio specializes in distinct, vibrant, low-volume glassworks. Fairweather says that operating out of a house in which they continue to live is a more feasible option than leasing retail space that has a monthly cost of upwards of $3,000. An added benefit is having full control over the space, and without a daily commute, more time to commit to hispassion. One of the challenges of being located within a residential neighbourhood is the fact that zoning does not allow for free-flowing foot traffic in the area. Fairweather says this is an impediment to walk-by exposure and sales, which the studio has overcome by making more use of social media to promote special events, demos and sales to increase their visibility.
Laneway alternative uses. Images © Brandan Dalmer and Shawn Mankowske.
Similarly, art enthusiasts Brandon Dalmer and Shawn Mankowske founded the 809 Gallery out
of a garage located at 809-5th Ave NW in 2007. The pop-up garage — one of the first of its kind
in Calgary — was a space for emerging and established artists alike to display their work and network with other artists. The cofounders operated the garage gallery up until its closing in 2009 for a total of $3,500.
Referring to the value of using garage space, Dalmer says the major perk was that it was cheap and convenient. The cost of the heated garage was already encompassed in the monthly rent of the house, and due to its proximity to the Sunnyside C-Train station, it was easy to attract visitors.
Dalmer says that after opening 809 Gallery he started to see a spiral effect across Calgary with other people opening up businesses in old spaces, like houses, sheds and former gas stations.
“I think it really opened up the possibilities for people… It showed you don't really need a lot of money to make an impact on a community desperate for more opportunity,” he says.
Mankowske adds that starting the garage gallery opened his eyes to the importance of the integration between art and community. For Mankowske, art is a reflection of and is reflected in the places we live. While the founders admit that ensuring they had the proper licensing and insurance was stressful and a challenge, they recommend that others interested in starting their own business pursue the garage-based model.
“I would absolutely recommend people initiate something they themselves wished existed in some form, and [be] willing to have the humility to do so in space that is outside of the normal,” says Mankowske.
While the Laneway Village concept that the team at Studio North envision is still in the conceptual phase, once implemented it could serve to alleviate some of the challenges faced by garage businesses that are located in more sporadic places across the city. But until then, the garage should be valued for what it really is: a hidden gem of infrastructure that promotes vibrancy in the community while offering local businesses an entrepreneurial kickstart.
Alberta’s downturn has business owners turning to home offices
Kristen Spruit is a writer based in Calgary that blends an interest in the law with a passion for the livability of her city.