Royal Homes has supplied the factory-built modules for its first multiplex project since new ownership in 2025 — a 32-unit development in North Bay, Ont. expected to go from groundbreaking to occupancy in a matter of months.

Built in partnership with local firm Bay Builders, Wingham, Ont.-based Royal Homes produced 40 modules for Perut Place, which were craned, stacked and joined on site to form four eightplexes.

Construction has moved at a rapid gallop by the standards of the sector. The earthworks for Perut Place were not even set in May, but the project is on track to have residents moved in by late December, Royal Homes' president Sid Kerrigan said in an interview with RENX Homes.

Modular construction, he said, made the multifamily development possible in a market where such product is uncommon, because it allows construction to move faster compared to traditional construction.

“It is the first start in what we think will be probably our largest customer channel,” Kerrigan said about multiplexes.

Making 'unviable' multiplexes possible in North Bay

Royal Homes and Bay Builders are well-acquainted, with Bay being a dealer of Royal’s products for over a decade. When Bay Builders’ president Joe Rogers relayed interest to Royal Homes in building a multifamily project, Kerrigan pitched a modular multiplex design for the construction, which Rogers chose.

It may strike some as an unorthodox choice. A multiplex in northern Ontario is, for the most part, “unviable,” Kerrigan noted. Such projects often wrestle with lengthy development schedules due to the short building season and shortage of labour, which bloats budgets. This, he said, incentivizes single-family builds in the region.

But the Lego brick-like components made from Royal Homes’ Wingham factory opened the possibility. The controlled, indoor conditions typically enable construction to be done at a faster pace compared to traditional methods such as stick-built.

Creating certainty of timing, cost

The two companies finished the planning and design for Perut Place in the first half of 2026. Once Bay Builders received a building permit in May, Royal got off and running to build the modules in late June. The first of the components were delivered in July, with module deliveries completed in September.

Modular construction enabled the manufacturing and installation of 32,000 square feet of rental housing in approximately three months, with the modules requiring approximately two business days per building to be craned and set.

There are two floor plans in Perut Place: a 750-square-foot, one-bedroom-plus-den model and a 950-square-foot two-bedroom model.

Bay Builders is handling the interior finishing and exterior work for Perut Place. Move-ins are expected in late December.

Monthly rent is expected to be between $2,000 to $2,500, commanding a premium compared to average rental stock in North Bay, Kerrigan said.

While research suggests modular construction can be an economical way to build housing, Kerrigan said the real wins come from “certainty of timing and the certainty of cost.”

Bay Builders did not need to “put any real money into the land until May” and can have it “all back by Christmas time,” he said.

Developers and landowners can plan ahead with more confidence “because you know you’re going to be able to turn around your investment capital,” Kerrigan said. “As opposed to having it out there for two or three years.”

Multiplexes on Royal's radar

Royal Homes, founded in 1971, is one of Canada’s oldest manufactured housing companies, known for its single-family homes, cottages and bungalows. But since a group of investors led by Kerrigan acquired the company, Royal is expanding its horizon toward multiplex products, Kerrigan said. That includes anything from a fourplex to a multiplex with over 64 units.

While it is not straying too far from its roots, Kerrigan anticipates multiplexes will make up the largest portion of Royal Homes’ customer base over time. Multiplexes are an efficient use of its production capacity, and Royal Homes is paying attention to the high demand for such housing in Ontario’s small urban centres. Even the cities outside the Greater Toronto Area are in dire need of multifamily dwellings, Kerrigan said.

Since Kerrigan became president, Royal Homes has doubled its production force over the last 12 months to approximately 250 employees. The company is in the early stages of adding automation to its Wingham factory, Kerrigan said, and could add a second factory if the conditions are right.