MDL 201 - Feasibility Studies and Pre-Development
Course Description
This course focuses on the earliest and most consequential stages of middle housing development: determining whether a project should move forward at all. Learners are introduced to practical methods for identifying demand, evaluating sites, and assessing feasibility before significant capital or time is committed. Through hands-on analysis, the course explores how market conditions, zoning regulations, physical site constraints, and financing options intersect to shape development potential. Participants will learn how to research housing supply and pricing, navigate land acquisition and purchase agreements, conduct basic due diligence, and apply structured checklists to identify risks and red flags. The course also introduces digital tools, including GIS-based analysis, to support site selection and long-term fit. By the end of the course, learners will be equipped to make informed, early-stage decisions about middle housing projects—understanding not only where opportunities exist, but when constraints signal that a project should be reworked or walked away from altogether.
Course Details
Learning Outcomes:
- Analyse demand conditions for middle housing by researching local housing supply, rental pricing, and demographic patterns, and determine whether middle housing aligns with community needs.
- Describe and interpret the full land acquisition process by outlining key steps, evaluating purchase-and-sale agreements, identifying transactional risks, and applying effective strategies for securing sites in competitive markets.
- Interpret zoning codes, neighbourhood plans, and regulatory overlays to determine what can be built on a site, identify opportunities or constraints, and begin evaluating longer-term rezoning potential.
- Conduct preliminary due diligence by performing legal, technical, and servicing checks, identifying high-risk site conditions, and using structured checklists to minimize uncertainty before purchase.
- Assess site suitability for middle housing by analysing frontage, access, slope, and context using checklists and digital tools such as GIS, and determine when alternate configurations or lot assemblies may be required
- Evaluate financing pathways for small-scale development by identifying land, soft, and hard costs; comparing mortgage and lending options; recognizing CMHC and alternative supports; and matching financing tools to project risk profiles