For many young families looking to plant roots in or near Toronto’s downtown core, the detached housing market presents an insurmountable barrier. However, one family found what they describe as a “loophole in the Toronto housing market”—and it was hiding right in their parents.
Enter the Glencrest Laneway Suite, a project designed and built by Lanescape. Far from a cramped studio or a simple guest house, this remarkable build proves that with the right lot and intelligent design, you can essentially build a full-sized, second home in a backyard.
Beating the Market with Multi-Generational Living
The clients knew what they wanted: a spacious home in a well-established neighbourhood close to parks, schools, and transit. When traditional real estate prices pushed a detached downtown home out of reach, they looked to their parents' property in East York, which was eligible for a laneway suite.
By utilizing this existing land, the family bypassed the crushing cost of a new lot, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. The site plan neatly places the two-storey suite at the rear of the property abutting the laneway, leaving a comfortable distance between the new build and the primary residence. The result is a masterclass in multi-generational living that allows the growing family to stay in their ideal neighbourhood with plenty of indoor and outdoor space, a backyard, and room for vehicles and toys.
Visually, the Glencrest suite is a stunning modern addition to the neighbourhood canopy. The exterior boasts a highly modern, boxy silhouette with a flat roof, clad in a crisp two-toned palette. The upper half features clean white horizontal siding, while the lower half is grounded by warm, vertically oriented wood-toned panels. Dark window frames add a sharp, contemporary contrast.
The landscaping and site design emphasize usability. An expansive interlocking brick driveway provides ample parking space right off the laneway. At the rear, expansive glass sliding doors open directly onto a large private wooden deck, seamlessly blending indoor and outdoor living while taking advantage of the lot's mature trees.
At an expansive 1,710 square feet across two levels, the Glencrest project shatters the tiny-home stereotype. The ground floor layout is meticulously sculpted to prioritize family time and entertaining.
A Welcoming Entry: A dedicated entryway with a large coat closet keeps the main living space clutter-free, while a conveniently located 30-square-foot, 3-piece bathroom sits just off the hall.
Smart Mechanicals: To save space, the mechanical room (housing the HRV, air handling unit, and hot water) is cleverly tucked beneath the staircase.
The Chef’s Kitchen: The heart of the 210-square-foot kitchen is a massive island featuring white quartz countertops with dramatic grey veining and a modern waterfall edge. The island seats four and is illuminated by three striking black and gold cone-shaped pendant lights. Flat-panel greige cabinetry, dark base cabinets, and high-end stainless steel appliances—including a gas range—complete the sophisticated look.
Open-Concept Flow: The kitchen flows effortlessly into a 155-square-foot dining area capable of hosting an eight-person table, and a generous 235-square-foot living room. Light wood-look flooring runs throughout, reflecting the abundant natural light.
Image courtesy of: Lanescape
Image courtesy of: Lanescape
Second Floor: A Feat of Family Engineering
Fitting four bedrooms into a laneway suite is an absolute rarity, but the second-floor floor plan executes it flawlessly without feeling cramped.
The Principal Suite: The 115-square-foot primary bedroom leaves nothing to be desired, featuring a dedicated walk-in closet and a private 55-square-foot ensuite bathroom with a large walk-in shower.
Three Additional Bedrooms: Ranging from 90 to 110 square feet, the three additional bedrooms offer ample space for children, guests, or home offices.
Family-Friendly Logistics: A second 55-square-foot full bathroom serves the secondary bedrooms. Furthermore, the upper-level hall was designed with ultimate convenience in mind, featuring two large linen closets and a dedicated double-door closet for a full-sized washer and dryer.
Image courtesy of: Lanescape
Image courtesy of: Lanescape
By the Numbers: Time and Budget
Building a custom home from the ground up requires patience, but the timeline for this laneway suite was incredibly efficient.
Design & Permits: Approximately 4 months.
Construction: Around 9 months (notably swift for a 1,700 sq. ft. custom home, especially considering it was one of Lanescape's earlier, larger construction projects).
The Cost: While custom builds vary widely based on size, materials, and upgrades (typically ranging from $350 to $500 per square foot), a unit of this size hits the more efficient end of that spectrum. The Glencrest suite came in at approximately $520,000 for construction hard costs (exclusive of management fees).
Ultimately, the Glencrest Laneway Suite is more than just a beautiful building; it is a blueprint for the future of urban density. It demonstrates that laneway suites have the profound potential to provide long-term, comfortable, and highly customized living solutions for families unwilling to compromise on space or location.
Lanescape is a group of planning, design, and development professionals who have long considered laneway and garden suite development to be a potential resource and opportunity for the City of Toronto to thoughtfully improve housing options in existing residential neighbourhoods.
In 2014, Lanescape set out to crowd-source an as-of-right zoning policy that would allow homeowners to easily and affordably build laneway suites. We, like many Torontonians, needed help affording our mortgages, aging in place, and finding family-oriented rental options near parks and schools. After 4 years of tireless effort consulting with communities, planning professionals, city staff, and municipal leaders, our dream became a reality when the City of Toronto approved and implemented as-of-right laneway housing by-laws in the summer of 2018.
Over the course of our advocacy efforts, our expertise in design and construction was integral to our success. With the Changing Lanes policy now in place and the Garden + Suites project well underway, our experience in establishing the by-law now informs our design-build approach, establishing our team as the leading authority on laneway and garden suite development. Lanescape’s fundamental mandate, centred on thoughtful, positive and sustainable development, continues to permeate all facets of our practice throughout our ongoing advocacy efforts, approach to design and methods of construction delivery.
