Late last year, a new bylaw in the City of Guelph opened the door for homeowners to construct accessory buildings on their property,

Jessica Imrie, who was unable to keep up with the rent on the work space she was leasing for her small photography business, decided to jump at the opportunity and have a separate building space right in her backyard.

Imrie and her husband were the first people to have a permit issued for an additional residential unit in a detached building. The city of Guelph has issued five permits as of Tuesday. 

“I knew that I just needed to create something that was going to be a little bit more stable for us if we were to go into lockdown again. So we decided that building something on our own property would probably be the safest bet because at the end of the day it would just add value to our property,” said Imrie.

With ageing parents and a daughter who may need a place to stay when she’s older, Imrie said the new building created new possibilities on their property.  

Imrie designed the building with her husband in January, submitted a permit in March, received the green light for the project in July and finally began construction which is expected to completely wrap up in November. 

The couple hired Steve Reid who launched the Cabin Office Company in Guelph last year to meet the demand for office cabins during the pandemic. The interior of the building is currently being completed by KPG construction, another local construction company. 

“We will be a rentable space to anyone in the community that needs to have a space to occasionally run their business out of, and then we’ll also be doing short-term rentals as well and I’ll primarily be using it for my business,” said Imrie. 

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