Top Stories for Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Housing Startup Gropyus Secures $109 Million for Expansion Plan

An Austrian startup that aims to streamline housing construction raised about $109 million in fresh cash from a group of investors led by Vonovia SE, Germany’s largest landlord.

Get off the Grid With These Sustainable Tiny Homes

Known for promoting simple lifestyles, tiny homes encourage people to live minimally. Originally from the U.S., the trend has become a global phenomenon thanks to its affordable and environmentally-friendly philosophy.

Roin Acquisition Strengthens Built Robotics Offering and Unicontrol Steps up US Distribution

Acquisition by Built Robotics could increase utility of their autonomous construction equipment and Unicontrol penetration of U.S. market suggest upstart companies could augment offerings from Cat, Trimble, Leica, Topcon and others.

Vistry to keep Countryside’s giant modular plant under plan to build homes for Housing Authorities

Housebuilder Vistry is planning to use the brand-new offsite factory it acquired as part of the purchase of Countryside to sell modular homes to housing associations and SME developers as well as supply its own build programs.

Construction to Begin for New, 200-Bed Transitional Housing Residence in Bed-Stuy

The Doe Fund, a homeless services organization with more than one million square feet of transitional housing across the city, is moving forward with a new 200-bed residence in Bed-Stuy.

Take a Minute and Help One of the Most Unique Construction Schools in the US - with Videos

A few years ago, I had the pleasure to tour a school in Vermont, unlike anything I've ever been to before. People from all over the country were at the school learning trades from the most primitive types of construction such as straw bale to tiny houses and post and beam.

This is not a school to send your staff to sit and watch how things are done. This is a real hands-on school where you learn everything from design to actually building a structure.

The crowd when I visited the Yestermorrow school was mostly young people eager to learn a trade that isn't taught in many places today. And if you think it's just a school for someone that wants to build their own home off-grid, you have to remember that Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Company was built after they took a $5 course in ice cream making from Penn State!

The group I was with back then included builders, Architects, a truss and panel factory owner and even a city planner. We toured the school and several modular and panel plants in New England.

They have hosted classes in post and beam as well as a recent one in modular construction. I just learned they are planning a course in converting a shipping container into a home.

Yestermorrow School is one of the few schools in the US that allows young people to express themselves through a series of courses ranging from a couple of days to a couple of months.

Now they are asking for a donation from all of us to keep this school running and provide more students with the skills needed to build their own homes and maybe, just like Ben and Jerry, one of them will be the next big Innovator that changes how housing is built.

So take a couple of minutes and join me in contributing to this great school!

Yestermorrow’s opportunity to host hands-on design/build programs during the winter months in a large, climate-controlled building here in the Mad River Valley.  

At that time, we asked for your help raising $20,000 by the end of August to seize this opportunity. To date, we have raised $15,000 thanks to the generous contributions of friends and supporters like you.

When you make your donation today, you move us closer to securing this indoor winter space, giving Yestermorrow the opportunity to: 

• Serve up to 110 more students per  year - (An 18% increase!)
• Build at least one more affordable dwelling each year

We know you care about Yestermorrow’s mission to inspire people to create a better, more sustainable world. Please take the time to contribute today. Or you can mail a check to: Yestermorrow Design/Build School, 7865 Main Street, Waitsfield VT  05673.

A Great Video on Why Housing is Simply Out of Touch with Reality

It's not often I find a video that explains exactly what we all know is the problem with affordable housing in the US. Take a few minutes and watch this one and let me know if you think the modular, manufactured and offsite construction industries can make a difference.

Help Managing Your Construction Company's Cash Flow Has Arrived

BlueTape, a leading payments and financing provider for the construction industry, today announced the closing of a $50M debt funding led by Arcadia Funds and a $5M seed round led by Chicago Ventures. Other investors include construction industry executives, real estate developers, and Plug and Play Ventures. 

This funding gives BlueTape the resources to continue providing payments and financing for the construction industry. BlueTape will increase lending, expand its team, and develop new products to help construction businesses address the nation’s housing and infrastructure crisis. 

The US construction industry market size is over $1.3 trillion, made up of over 3 million small and medium-sized businesses. Unfortunately, the industry lags behind others in technology adoption and has been neglected by traditional financial institutions. BlueTape blends affordable financing options with easy-to-use accounts receivable and invoice management tools. Construction pros can use BlueTape credit to buy building materials at any supplier and pay back over time. BlueTape has also forged a community of construction industry dealers and suppliers that offer BlueTape credit instantly to their trade customers. This allows the construction suppliers to lower their risk and improve their cash flow and customer experience. 

“We are excited to partner with BlueTape to provide affordable financing on demand for this industry. With the current economic uncertainty, BlueTape is needed more than ever to help construction businesses of all sizes operate successfully and thrive,” stated Andrew Hallowell, Managing Director and CEO at Arcadia Funds. “Arcadia is constantly on the lookout for these opportunities, having built a powerful portfolio over the past several years by helping similar agile and innovative lenders like BlueTape make lives better with credit.” 

Jackie DiMonte, partner at Chicago Ventures, said, “Given the team’s background, we strongly believe BlueTape is the right company to tackle one of the fundamental obstacles for any construction business. They are paving the way for small businesses in the industry to have access to working capital and benefit from adopting new technology.” 

Key Benefits for Construction SMBs 

● Convenient funding: Quick access to much-needed funding for building materials keeps existing jobs moving and allows for more new revenue-generating projects. ● Designed for SMBs in Construction: Higher approval rate for small construction businesses than other solutions.

● Repay over time: Helping small businesses manage cash flow is more critical than ever in a time of inflation. BlueTape gives contractors up to 120 days to pay their building material invoices. 

● Accepted at nation’s top building material suppliers: BlueTape credit can be used at all the building suppliers that industry professionals use and trust. 

● Easy to use: Managing invoices, collecting payments, and paying bills with BlueTape on mobile is simple and convenient for construction pros who are always on the move. 

“We have had enormous demand from construction businesses for our services since we launched. Inflation and supply chain interruptions mean builders and contractors need more working capital. With the funding from Arcadia and Chicago Ventures, we will be able to help more construction companies get the financing and payments services they need to navigate economic uncertainty and supply chain issues,” said Yaser Masoudnia, CEO and Co-Founder of BlueTape. 

For more information, visit BlueTape.com or Contact: Sara Masoudnia, VP of Marketing. pr@bluetape.com

Chicago's S.I. Container Builds Holds First Public Factory Open House

 

Everyone remembers their first time. Factory Open House, that is.

With all the marketing done, preparations in the factory completed and everyone qued as to what happens when the factory opens its doors to the public, the only thing that you can't count on is people actually showing up to see your new factory and what you build.

For Rory and Dan Rubin, the co-founders of S.I. Container Builds in Chicago, those Open House jitters quickly melted when people began streaming through the doors. 

Operating in the U.S. and Canada, S.I. Container Builds, Inc. – S.I. stands for Sustainable Imprints – constructs modern living and workspaces from recycled shipping containers, creating spaces that are functional, attractive, affordable and have a smaller carbon footprint. From backyard offices and business studios to guest suites and cozy lounges, S.I. Container Builds offers a variety of layouts and customization options to fit whatever needs and visions their clients may have.

S.I. Container Builds debunks a common misconception that container dwellings aren’t practical or comfortable for living. Their builds consist of recycled shipping containers made from Corten steel, a highly durable material that is weather, rust and pest resistant. S.I. Container Builds ensures their dwellings are insulated to tackle any climate and that all international building codes are met, making the build process simple and stress-free.

Starting with a recycled structure is a big deal when it comes to building and construction. Roughly 39% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions come from traditional building and construction activities. In addition to having a lower carbon footprint, S.I. Container Builds’ dwellings also minimize ground disturbance through the use of helical piles – an anchoring system made from hollow steel tubes – instead of pouring concrete (another big contributor to global emissions).

Besides the shipping container itself, S.I. Container Builds also incorporates recycled and energy-efficient materials into their builds whenever possible. This includes Illume LED lighting, FEMA-approved closed cell spray insulation and reclaimed wood for interior decor and exterior cladding. Solar options are also available to clients as another means to reduce emissions.

Rory Rubin, CEO of S.I. Container Builds, is committed to growing the company’s sustainability standing by implementing green building practices at every phase of the build process and within all areas of the workplace. Rory is soon to be pursuing her LEED certification to maintain the highest level of standardized practice in green building.

With over 100 people touring their homes in the factory, Rory and Dan Rubin will probably be holding a lot more Open Houses, especially with some of the attendees making appointments to have S.I. Container Homes help design and build their new homes.

What is a Cross Mod Home?

 

With zoning restrictions being lifted in many areas of the country allowing alternative housing options to fill in vacant lots, ADUs, container homes and even tiny homes are beginning to show up to fill the affordable housing gap.

One type of home that only recently began to show up are Cross Mod manufactured homes.

A Clayton CrossMod® home on display at the RV/MH Hall of Fame is now open to visitors. The home represents a modern housing solution for individuals and families amid the ever growing affordable housing crisis. Clayton, a national home builder, offers beautiful, attainable homes, like the one on display, that feature a variety of unique styles and energy-saving home options.

The Clayton CrossMod home, along with two other off-site built houses, are part of a new 21,000-square-foot Manufactured Home Museum expansion. The new wing is dedicated to showcasing the industry's history and the innovations yet to come. It features interactive displays and the opportunity to tour three off-site built homes.

"CrossMod homes are built off-site like manufactured homes and are an affordable, sustainable solution to today's housing crisis and can be built more efficiently than traditional site-built homes," said Kevin Clayton, CEO. "More consumers, lenders, appraisers, and zoning officials are realizing the benefits of building a home indoors – and when visitors walk through this CrossMod home they will see just how indistinguishable it is from any other beautiful, modern house."

The CrossMod home on display is the Hawthorne floor plan. CrossMod homes blend off-site construction methods with on-site features and design to produce an affordable home on a permanent foundation that looks and performs like a site-built house. 

In addition, CrossMod homes can be financed like a site-built home and appraised using site-built comps. These new homes can help expand zoning opportunities, where manufactured housing has not been previously allowed as a housing solution, mostly due to outdated stigmas. They are an example of how the industry continues innovating the building process to help even more individuals and families achieve the dream of homeownership.

San Francisco, CA Seniors Face Dire Housing Needs - with Video

Can you imagine Seniors having to spend 75% of their Social Security just to have a roof over their head? That's what is happening in many cities across the US but one city in California seems to be especially hit hard by the sheer number of seniors in that situation.

San Francisco plans to build a towering number of new homes by 2031, though progress on that front is slow. Meanwhile, many of the city’s currently available homes—even its “affordable” ones—are out of reach for San Francisco’s vulnerable, low-income seniors.

The math is dire. Food, Housing or Medicine. You get your choice of two of the three.

Most affordable units in San Francisco target their rents at between 30% and 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which means a one-bedroom apartment rents for between $799 and $1,333 a month. But the latest report from San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services shows over 75% of senior renters say their actual income levels are below 20% of the AMI. 

In other words, many seniors are spending 75% or more of their monthly, fixed income on rent each month, and struggling to pay for other necessities like food and bills.

CLICK HERE to read the entire San Francisco Standard article

California County to Subsidize Homeowners That Install ADUs

ADUs (Auxiliary Dwelling Units) in Solano County, CA are being looked at to help ease the Affordable Housing situation. ADUs come in many forms from onsite built homes to tiny houses, converted shipping containers all the way to modular ADUs.

Solano County supervisors clearly support using $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to fund a subsidized auxiliary dwelling unit program to create more affordable housing options in the unincorporated area.

Although the program details are still being worked out – with a host of suggestions made to staff at Tuesday’s meeting – the concept is to provide between $40,000 and $75,000 to property owners to place prefabricated studio, two-bedroom and three-bedroom homes as secondary dwellings at their home sites.

The size of the units could be less than 500 square feet up to 1,200 square feet. The funding would pay for up to 30 units.

The ADUs are meant to provide additional housing options for lower-income residents.

ADA-friendly Auxiliary Dwelling Unit

A proposed tier system by which the subsidy amount would increase for property owners who are willing to accept greater deed restrictions, such as keeping rents down for extended periods of time, and for choosing dwellings that have more senior- and disability-friendly options.

Qualifying for the subsidy also would be based, in part, on income levels.

If the property is sold before the term of the agreement is completed, then a 6.6% annual fee would be charged on the remaining grant or loan amount so the county can recoup some of its costs.

This appears to be a great solution to the affordable housing crisis but 30 housing units in a county next to Sacramento seems like just a drop in the bucket. 

We can do better.

 

More "Experts" Than Ever in the Modular Construction Industry

There are so many "Experts" in off-site construction today, each armed with the software, app, or disruptive idea that will change how we build housing today, that it's almost impossible not to see, read about or hear one telling you that by giving them tons of money, you can be the new leader in off-site housing.

It reminds me of a dozen blindfolded people trying to describe an elephant. It all depends on where you’re standing and what they touch. They all know it’s big but beyond that there is no point of reference for them to collaborate on.

The person in the front may think he is touching an extra long tail as is the person at the back. Are those tree trunks or legs? And what’s with those long rock-like projections?

You get the picture. We all know something about modular construction but very few know it all. It all depends on your viewpoint.

About four years ago I invited a modular home “expert” to tour a modular factory with me. As he looked at the production line, he asked me when the steel frame gets added to the house. Turns out he had only toured two factories, both were manufactured home plants. I spent the rest of the tour explaining the differences to this off-site housing "expert".

Fast forward to the present and I’ve encountered many more of these housing “experts” that had no idea what true modular manufacturing is all about. These same experts were speaking at events and conferences I was attending before COVID-19 and now on Zoom conferences and video interviews. You have to ask yourself what part of the elephant had they touched before they spoke to their audiences.

The problem with this begins when they speak to a group of investors and developers that are so ready to drink whatever Kool-Aid these experts provide. I know very few speakers that have ever been in the trenches of modular construction. There are so many levels of knowledge and expertise needed and most of them only know their small segment.

One of the first misperceptions is when the developer is told, usually by the expert along with the factory rep, exactly what they want to hear. Modular construction is cheaper by 25%, it’s finished in half the time, it is available whenever the developer wants it; etc. I know, this sounds like the perfect way to build a 5 story apartment building or hotel.

And it could be if it was reality. I know of no modular factory in the world that can shave 25% off the cost of a site-built project. That ship sailed a long time ago. And that part about taking half the time; who’s kidding who here? Yes, you will probably save some time but not by half unless you’re just counting the time from the modules arriving on the job site until the building is ready for occupancy.

And what about the part of getting it when the developer needs it? Let’s look at that. Factories can’t afford to set idle just waiting for the developer to secure permits, financing, tax credits, and code approvals, each of which can extend the lead time for producing the modules in the factory back weeks, months, or even years.

So the modular factory must accept whatever comes in their door ready to begin the process. If a factory produces 15 modules a week and the project is 75 modules, that is five weeks the production line is building nothing but that project.

Suppose that project gets delayed a week before going to the line because of a SNAFU with financing, zoning, etc, can the factory wait for the developer to correct the problem? No, they are a business and building modules are their products and without products, they lose money. Lose enough money and they are forced to close their doors.

People have been asking me lately, why would a modular factory go out of business when there are so many modular projects that need to be built? Now you know part of the answer.

Since there is no national network of independent modular factories that could easily shift the developer’s project to another factory, the project is delayed and the developer is stuck in the void.

So what is modular reality?

It’s the best way for investors, developers and builders to construct everything from hotels, affordable housing projects, single and multi-family homes, ADU’s, tiny houses, workforce housing and just about any other type of building.

But there are limitations and that’s the reality. Listening to those “experts” and planning your project around what they say may not be the best way to go.

Before you even begin talking to any modular factory about building your next project, you should take the time to find a consultant with the working knowledge and expertise of what is modular reality for your project. That reality is not always found by just talking to the factory people.

I recently learned that the engineering department at one modular factory turned down a developer’s project after the developer spent countless hours and many meetings talking about it with the sales and management side of the factory. They couldn’t build what the developer wanted, so he went back to using a site builder for the project.

Little did the developer know that another factory within a hundred miles actually has built similar projects but since they didn’t use any consultant with modular knowledge, they missed the boat.

Here is more reality.

Modular construction can be slightly faster to complete, it can save you money and it will definitely give you a better product over site-building your project. It is also inherently more energy-efficient, greener and sustainable.

The modular factory becomes your partner in identifying problems and offering solutions before anything is even built. You can also visit the production line and watch as your modules are produced. Your groundwork and foundation can be completed at the same time your modules are being produced.

And let’s not forget the people that build the modules for your project. They actually show up every day! They also work in a stable environment and usually work in the same station on the production line where they hone their skills.

It was Winston Churchill that said, “Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…”

That is also true for modular construction. It is the worst type of construction except for all those other types that have been tried from time to time.

An Innovative Modular-Timber System to be Used in Rotterdam Project

When a new project is planned to replace older buildings, the materials from the demolished buildings are usually on their way to a landfill, not recycled into the modular components of the new buildings. 

But that's exactly what happened in Rotterdam when an existing housing project was ready to be replaced.

HA-HA, in partnership with BIK Bouw and Wooncompas Housing, will develop four social housing blocks for the community of Ridderkerk, near Rotterdam, Netherlands. The project uses materials from the existing social housing estate, built in the 1950s, and employs an innovative modular-timber system to create sustainable human-centered housing. 

The old buildings are planned to be disassembled and their components reused and integrated into the new development, which will increase the number of affordable units by 13%.

In order to achieve a degree of circularity, HA-HA has created a catalog or reusable elements. Examples of these are the window frames and doors, which will become community planters and seating areas, and the bricks which will be reused for landscape paths. 

The Rembrandtweg Ridderkerk development will also reuse the concrete structure and basement of the existing buildings as the foundation for the new modular units. The project works within the confines of the original footprint of the four buildings.

The design utilizes a prefabricated modular wooden system developed by BIK Bouw. The two different unit types are designed to have a span of 7.8 meters to align with the structural span of the reused basement. The modules will be assembled off-site, including wet walls and plumbing, and then transported to the location. This is an energy-efficient type of construction that contributes to the affordability of the design.

CLICK HERE to read the entire ArchDaily article

Oregon Non-Profit Plans to Open Manufactured Housing Factory

In about a year, a new Eugene nonprofit hopes to breathe new life into a former steel plant by bringing in more than 100 workers to make mobile homes for low-income families.

Housing Options Production Enterprise Community Corporation (HOPE) has big plans.

It will be the manufacturer and work alongside St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, which will operate as the seller. At full capacity, the mobile-home production line will be able to finish two to four homes every work day, staff said. They believe it’s the only non-profit manufacturing facility for mobile homes in the nation.

HOPE was established to respond to the housing shortage for low-income Oregonians, especially the thousands whose homes burned in the 2020 wildfires.

It's a shortage staff said couldn’t be met by the industry, which was already ill-equipped to serve low-income Oregonians unable to afford or access replacements for aging modular homes past the end of their useful life.

The project was launched with the help of $15 million for the Oregon Legislature.

Oregon is 86,000 units short of the affordable units residents need, the nonprofit housing policy advocacy group Up for Growth estimated in its 2022 report on Housing Underproduction in the U.S.

State Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, said the shortage is closer to 110,000 to 140,0000.

She secured the state’s funding for this endeavor and introduced House Bill 4064, which prohibits local governments from banning manufactured structures in residential areas.

Her district lost 2,500 homes, mostly manufactured and RVs, during 2020’s Almeda Fire. Few of those homes have been replaced.

“It's really hard to come up with manufactured homes,” Marsh said. “So, what do we do about this? We do what Terry McDonald envisioned — we start producing more manufactured homes.”

CLICK HERE to read the entire Register-Guard article

Are Bureaucratic Codes and Regulations Killing Affordable Housing?

I recently took a drive toward Washington DC from my home in Western Maryland, a distance of 60 miles and what I saw actually sadden me. All the top builders in the US were working on adding communities of townhouses, standardized single-family homes and duplexes. 

Some of these developments have hundreds of new housing units all under construction at the same time. The worst part was seeing the quality of the homes, especially the three-story townhouses built in groups of up to 20 connected to each other with the only difference between them being the front facade. Signs along the road read “Homes starting at $450,000” for homes that were just $250,000 only 18 months ago. The rising price of new homes is driven by many factors including inflation, material, and labor shortages and of course, demand. 

The biggest cost in new home construction is imposed by faceless bureaucrats in government departments perceived as being concerned with procedural correctness at the expense of people's needs who have contempt for freedom of choice wielding the power to decide what’s best for others.

These overzealous bureaucrats are exacerbating the housing affordability crisis and severely limiting consumer choice. Homeowners should be able to choose between electric and gas heating and the types of appliances and lighting that best meet their needs. 

A recent study by the National Association of Home Builders found that, on average, government regulations account for nearly 25% of the price of building a single-family home and more than 30% of the cost of a typical multifamily development. The Biden administration has often cited the need to address housing affordability concerns, but lofty rhetoric will not suffice. The administration needs to take concrete action to ease regulatory burdens. This will put families in homes and create jobs.

The California Code of Regulations — the compilation of the state’s administrative rules — contains more than 21 million words. If reading it was a 40-hour-a-week job, it would take more than six months to get through it and understanding all that legalese is another matter entirely.

Included in the code are more than 395,000 restrictive terms such as “shall,” “must” and “required,” a good gauge of how many actual requirements exist. This is by far the most regulation of any state in the country.

I acknowledge climate change and think we must all do our part to help but why do the rules and regulations governing how new homes meet over-stringent energy codes continue to be ramped up even more? I wonder how many of the regulators and energy czars regulating new home construction live in homes 20 years old or older? I would bet it’s the vast majority.

My home would have the regulators shaking their heads if they ever came through for an inspection. It was built in 1963. It still has single-pane windows with storm windows and almost nonexistent insulation in the side walls. I did have R48 sprayed in the attic this Winter though.

Here’s my point. Over the last 2 years, I never had an electric bill over $50 a month or bought more than 200 gallons of oil a year for heating. If I decided to sell, the buyers would hire a home inspector that would write up a report about the windows and insulation being inadequate with the buyers wanting me to pay tens of thousands of dollars to correct these horrible problems. That’s BS!

As long as bureaucrats continue to wield their power with no oversight, our industry will soon see that 25% share of regulatory cost continuing to climb forcing more people out of affordable housing.

 

Habitat For Humanity's Newest Affordable Home Only Slighter Larger Than a Tiny House

Dorsey Village has two new residents and a pair of freshly completed, adorable kinda-tiny homes. Situated at the bottom of New Hope Drive’s steep hill in the Athens Georgia Area Habitat for Humanity-built community, the houses represent a new model of affordable housing suited for Athens-Clarke County’s unique challenges.

Habitat leadership and volunteers, private builders and other contributors to the project joined Mayor Kelly Girtz and the public on Apr. 26 to dedicate the houses. In addition to hosting open houses, homeowners Faye Hill, a retired housekeeper at Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital, and veteran Nicholas Floyd were presented with their keys. 

“It’s my very first home. This is a very, very special day for me,” Hill said. “I’ve been blessed.”

He and Floyd’s new houses are unique in multiple ways. Not only are they among the few Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) homes sold in Athens-Clarke County, they mark one potential solution to the lack of affordable housing plaguing Athens.

Limited land resources and soaring rents on traditionally-sized houses leave Athens’ working class without homeownership options, said Habitat’s executive director, Spencer Frye, who is also a state representative. He and his colleagues designed the project to take advantage of a loophole in Athens’ zoning policy: Homes in single-family neighborhoods must be at least 1,000 square feet, but those in multifamily zones have a minimum of 600 square feet, allowing for “kinda tiny” homes. Thus, 190 and 195 New Hope Drive are each between 700 and 800 square feet—more than the 500 square feet or less in truly tiny homes, but significantly smaller and more efficient than traditional homes.

“I really wanted to show two things. Number one: We can build small houses, and they look good, and they feel good. Number two: We should be able to choose our own sizes and get rid of these policies that stop smart development from happening,” Frye said.

Habitat has advocated ridding Athens of its zoning policies, which Frye considers vestiges of segregation, for years. Girtz’s task force on the subject, the Inclusionary Housing Working Group, is making progress. Just last month, the first phase of their effort to develop inclusionary zoning was unanimously passed by the Athens-Clarke County Commission. The amendment implements rewards for developers of multi-family residential projects who have units designated for affordable housing. 

“Getting a mayor and commission that understands the importance of the work that we’re doing and is willing to take the steps to look at the codes that preclude cost manageable housing in this community has been a lifetime achievement for me,” Frye said. “The inclusionary zoning rule they just passed—we asked them to do that almost 20 years ago. We finally got people elected that could do it. That’s why I’m so excited.”

Girtz attested to his pleasure at kinda-tiny homes in his speech at the dedication. He said the Inclusionary Housing Group is currently working on the second phase, which involves unique models like tiny homes and how to incorporate them into single-family neighborhoods. Code updates could be completed by late 2022.

“We really need to bring as many tools to the table as possible to increase opportunities,” Girtz said. “I’m glad to see Habitat innovating and finding some different models for residential life in Athens.”

Though the project yielded two charming, environmentally sustainable and fully functioning homes, construction was not smooth sailing. COVID-19 and supply chain hiccups caused significant delays. And because of Habitat’s global policy of no volunteers on-site in response to COVID-19, the homes were finished by private builders. 

CLICK HERE to read the entire Flagpole article

Will the Lack of Affordable Housing Force Large Companies to Rethink Relocating?

At the height of COVID-19, working from home was a great alternative for millions of workers in office situations. With the freedom of not having to fight traffic every day, paying for daycare, and being able to spend more time with the family, many decided that living within driving distance of the office wasn’t necessary. 

Welcome to the exodus from overcrowded cities with the sky-high cost of living to country life sometimes hundreds or even a thousand miles from the office and the world of working from home.

However, things have recently happened that are making the entire work-from-home option not so good. First, many companies have begun telling their employees to return to work in the office as evidenced by Elon Musk announcing he wanted his office employees back at their desks. 

The other thing that happened is something almost nobody expected. Companies began leaving states with high taxes and wages and moving to other areas that offered better benefits to them. Good, sound business decisions. Now those new areas are rapidly becoming very expensive for their employees’ housing needs as both the exodus to new areas was massive and now rising costs of home prices and the new interest rates are hurting the average office worker and middle manager.

Amazon’s HQ2 new headquarters in Crystal City just outside DC could become a prime (pardon the pun) example of bringing too much to an area. It is estimated that Amazon will employ 25,000 within 8 years. The problem is it will drive up rents and housing costs and make it difficult for lower-income residents to afford to stay in the county unless thousands of new units are added to alleviate the pressure on the market, which requires more subsidized housing units while the existing affordable housing will be used by Amazon workers.

The bottom line is where will the displaced people, forced to move out of their homes by rapidly increasing rents, go? The jobs many hold now will not be what big companies like Amazon will need. They are going to bring in a lot of employees with IT and technology skills that can afford to pay those higher rents while the people displaced have to live further away from their current jobs.

Only a fraction of new housing in Arlington County, VA is geared for ‘workforce’ budgets. Analysts have estimated the county’s shortage of affordable housing at tens of thousands of homes, condominiums, or apartments as Amazon will require other tech companies to relocate to Crystal City to service it.

This is happening in just about every city. It’s time for drastic measures to help create enough affordable as well for sheltering the homeless. We’re the USA and we can do it. The questions are when will we begin doing it and who will do it?