Completing his final “hands-on” build in 2022, Garth had to step away from the tools and focus on some health issues. In the summer of 2025 he and his wife founded Mary’s Ark, a social enterprise focused on building the awareness and opportunity for homeowners, real estate investors and most importantly, residents who benefit from these new dignified affordable homes in existing neighbourhoods!
Homeowners benefit from significant rental income, increased home equity and leverage tax benefits and financial incentives to their advantage. They can build these homes compliant with local zoning guidelines and by-laws ‘as of right’ without telling or asking a neighbour for their permission to do so. Real estate investors look to maximize the return on their properties and many have generated additional wealth by building secondary suites with Garth in the past. Evolving by-laws now allow fourplexing and, in some areas, sixplexing resulting in more housing stock which is so desperately needed throughout Canada. Some builders Garth networked with are well versed in these multi-res projects as well and Mary’s Ark welcomes inquiries from all real estate investors!
Residents of these new secondary suites can be the homeowner themselves, their family members, and renters who are so thankful for the fresh, dignified housing that help them to settle in established neighbourhoods, bring more kids into our schools, more consumers into retailers and service providers and more use of our transit systems. Let’s invest in our homes, invest in people and invest in making our communities more vibrant!!
Garth Brown established a rooming house providing transitional housing for women in Kitchener in 1990. Within days he realized how a fixed address and affordable rent for dignified space can transform lives.
Over the past decade, Garth built several legal secondary suites to provide homes for families on the housing wait list, often single mothers and their children. The relief in their eyes as they were handed the keys to their safe secure home and their bright future reinforced the possibilities.
Since then Garth built homes for multi-generational families, care-giver space for older
homeowners to meet their evolving health requirements, and homes to provide much needed rental income for homeowners dealing with cost of living realities.
Garth and his team at Mary’s Ark start by focusing on your immediate and future housing needs, assess your home’s potential multiple housing options and propose trusted builders who have the same commitment to value and service.
Creating housing solutions since 1981
