Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | June 16, 2025 | wbjournal.com BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Managing Editor H omelessness is at an all- time high in Worcester County, according to data released in June by the Central Massachu- setts Housing Alliance, as rent prices creep upward due to high demand and low vacancy rates. A dra of the City of Worcester Housing Production Plan for fiscals 2026-2030 says the city needs upward of 12,000 new housing units in order to meet demand over the next eight years. While a number of large multi-family apartment projects continue to be built across Worcester and beyond, a factory on Southbridge Street could be key in unlocking a faster and more cost-ef- fective way to fight the housing crisis: modular construction. e technique opens up the possibility of assembling apartments off-site with a factory assembly line, then putting the project together on-site like a large- scale Lego kit, slashing both costs and construction times. Modular construc- tion has come a long way over the past dozen years, with the growing industry behind the practice hoping perceptions and financing options can catch up with modern times to allow for this type of construction to become the norm. "Many people still think it's the trailer with the wheels on it," said Ron Bourque, CEO of Integrity Modular Design & Construction in Worcester. "at's ac- tually a manufactured office, a different category than what people's perception is. is is something very different." A longtime construction industry figure with experience in both architec- ture and project management, Bourque's interest in modular construction began about 15 years ago, aer the method was considered for a project he was working on. Looking into where modular units would come from, he noticed they were being produced in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Canada. "My first question to myself was: 'Why not Massachusetts?,'" Bourque said. "We have the talent, we have the money, and we have the market. So why don't we have plants here?" Save time = save money Aer doing more research and watching the modular industry further develop, he founded Integrity Modular Design & Construction in 2023. Now confident in its proof of concept and with the necessary certifications, the firm is looking to ramp up its produc- tion capabilities this year. Time is money, particularly in the construction industry, and perhaps the biggest benefit to modular construc- tion is the elimination of variables like weather and its ability to allow con- struction of buildings to begin before or during site and foundation work. Between 60% to 90% of a modular project can be completed inside a factory, according to the nonprofit trade association Modular Building Institute, potentially shaving months off a project. "e ability to produce it in a more streamlined fashion saves you square foot costs, because I don't have workers on site for 18 months," Bourque said. Constructing units from the comfort of a climate-controlled factory can be a benefit to workers, and it helps elimi- nate waste, saving both money and the environment. "Unlike a traditional stick-built job site, where 15 to 20% of the raw mate- rials brought to the job site end up in a Dumpster in the landfill, less than 1% of what's arriving ends up in a Dump- ster in our factory," said Scott Dennett, director of business development for Integrity Modular. Other modular manufacturers build larger units, which require lots of pa- perwork and preparation to transport. Bigger units tend to flex when they are picked up by a crane to be put into position, said Bourque, complicating the construction process. Seeking to overcome this potential obstacle toward wider adoption of mod- ular construction, Integrity Modular is mostly focused on wood-framed units measuring 26 feet by 12 feet. is makes the units small enough to be pulled by pickup trucks if needed, avoiding the expensive process of getting approvals and escorts for oversized loads and allowing units to be taken under bridges and down narrow streets to their desti- nations. e firm is in the early planning stag- es of projects in Whitman and Hopkin- ton and has been trading insights and knowledge with developers in Worcester An ASSEMBLY LINE of homes Worcester firm sees factory-built apartment units as a potential gamechanger for the region's housing crunch PHOTOS | ERIC CASEY Rising use of U.S. modular construction To save both cost and time, an increasing portion of developers are turning to permanent modular construction. Value of Annual PMC projects PMC market Year (billions) share 2015 $3.71 2.14% 2016 $6 2.46% 2017 $7.24 2.94% 2018 $8.99 3.69% 2019 $9.14 3.58% 2020 $8.18 4.39% 2021 $10.30 5.52% 2022 $12.31 6.03% 2023 $14.58 6.64% Source: Modular Building Institute, ConstructConnect Ron Bourque (right) and Ricky Carlos Martins founded Integrity Mod- ular Design & Construc- tion in Worcester in order to provide Massa- chusetts with local options for residential modular construction products.

• Cover