The Planning Lady

At the University of Nebraska Lincoln, architecture students over the course of several semesters have been both learning and attempting to solve a major housing problem–how to built smaller homes to accommodate the growing aging population in our cities that are looking to downsize while maintaining affordability. This project was initiated by Partners for a Livable Omaha, working with Holy Name Housing. The UNL College of Architecture’s FACT studio led the design work.

The resulting project, with a planned groundbreaking on June 2nd, are Corby and Benson, highlighting the location of the two dwelling units in the Benson neighborhood on Corby Street. Each unit is about 600-800 square feet in size, located on lots just over 1,700 square feet in area. The team worked with city planners to split one vacant lot into two, allowing them to site two new housing units where one would have previously been allowed.

Through testing and prototyping, the students and faculty developed three structurally insulated panels (SIP) that would contain the essential home needs. This included a 10 foot wall with all the infrastructure for both the kitchen and bathroom. Another panel was designed for storage. The three main wall panels could be moved around to create different room layouts, with the exterior structure accommodating the design. This modular approach to the housing units, using SIP’s, is expected to speed up the on-site construction time by about 55 percent.

Financing is the biggest hurdle for this project, however with a grant and potential loan forgiveness, the units are expected to sell for $190,000 (2 bedroom) and $150,000 (1 bedroom), maintaining affordability. Total projected costs for the two units is $540,000. One standard single family home construction is a minimum of $300,000 making these units slightly cheaper to build, that is before you consider it on a per square foot basis.

Additional challenges arise in getting appraisals for the properties. New construction of housing units of this small size are non-existent in most communities, especially in the Midwest. The post-WWII boom in housing led to plenty of smaller footprint homes, but those units are 50-60 years old now and do not make for good comparables.

Innovative approaches like this project are needed to start to provide diverse housing options for a changing population. As the boomer generation ages, cities will need more age friendly homes. Only about 6% of older adults live in retirement communities or facilities. That means the vast majority of older adults will remain in the housing market and many will want to downsize to a more manageable home that allows them to age in place. Corby and Benson are two examples of how to provide this infill option.