Reprinted from theMay 2000 issue of - PDF document

1 Reprinted from theMay 2000 issue of (Cl
Reprinted from theMay 2000 issue of (Click here to get your freesubscription.) Noji GardensSeattle, Washington Affordable Seattle: How One Developer isTaming the High Cost of Infill Housingby Steve Hullibarger Rising prominently from their foundations in Seattle'sRainier Valley, eight HUD-Code homes are the first inNoji Gardens, a new 75-home development bySeattle's premier nonprofit housing corporation,HomeSight. After nearly three years of research andplanning with Northwest manufacturers, the homesare finally in place, and they're receiving a warmwelcome from the neighborhood. Project at a Glance Type of project Urban Subdivision Site area (total) 6.5 acres Lots (total) 75 Density 12 units/acre Average lot size 5,000 square feet Home size 1,300 to 1,400 squarefeet Price range $155,000 to $225,000 Type of Homes two-story 2 and 4 sectionHUD Code Opened In March 2000 Noji Gardens is set to take its place among otherinnovative manufactured home developments, suchas New Colony Village in Elkridge, Md., and LidoPeninsula Resort in Newport Beach, Calif. In addition,the Manufactured Housing Institute's Urban DesignDemonstration Project has shepherded new infillhomes into Pittsburgh, Louisville, Ky. andWashington, D.C. It's now becoming clear that themanufactured housing industry has cracked open anew market-the result of a lot of effort on the part of many individuals-pushing the evolution ofmanufactured housing forward. Noji Gardens is 4 miles southeast of downtownSeattle and a mile and a half from Lake Washington.Nearby is Boeing's Renton plant, and Microsoft'scorporate headquarters are only 10 miles away inRedmond. Naturally, with these economic giants, andothers, driving

2 Seattle's economy, one would expectthat
Seattle's economy, one would expectthat housing costs would be extremely high andaffordable housing would be in great demand, with ashort supply. According to The Seattle Times, King County's 1999median price of a single-family home was $234,000,representing a 9.9% increase over the $213,000recorded in 1998. These prices have puthomeownership beyond the reach of many people.HomeSight's primary objective as a communitydevelopment corporation is to address and serve theaffordable housing market. Where many nonprofitstarget rental housing, HomeSight prefers to buildhomes for sale to owners. Dorothy Lengyel, HomeSight's executive director, hadseen manufactured homes in King County and nearbySnohomish County used in developments built bytheir respective housing authorities. While she wasimpressed with the savings in time and costs whichwere demonstrated, she knew that architecturally, thehomes needed considerable help in order to blend incomfortably with prevailing neighborhood housestyles. It seemed early on that the only acceptablesolution for this site was the use of two-story homes.Fortunately, the manufactured housing industry hadrecently been addressing the two-story issue, andproblems were being solved in rapid order. Thetwo-story concept, once thought to be outside therealm of the HUD standards, was becoming viable, ifnot yet entirely practical or widely available. Another obstacle, according to Joan Brown, executivedirector of the Washington Manufactured HousingAssociation, was that while Seattle had no specificordinances prohibiting manufactured homeplacements within its city limits, there were numerousprocedural and regulatory steps in place discouragingapplicants from seeking th

3 e necessary permits forthem. "Once Dorot
e necessary permits forthem. "Once Dorothy Lengyel began to show public officialsand housing advocacy groups the benefits fromutilizing manufactured housing in such a high costenvironment, and how attractive the homes could be,those subtle barriers just disappeared," said Brown. After evaluating their options in the Northwest, HomeSight met in Seattle with Walter Wells, CEO ofSchult Homes Corporation, a subsidiary of OakwoodHomes Corporation. Wells immediately recognizedthe setting for a quality development and anopportunity to introduce multi-story homes to theNorthwest. On a handshake, the gears were set inmotion for Schult's Marlette Division to beginintroducing the process of two-story HUD-codeproduction at their Hermiston, Oregon plant. "HomeSight's Seattle development represented agreat way for us to leverage our research anddevelopment efforts in the New Colony Villageproject. We transferred much of our constructiontechnology across the country to our Oregon plant,"Wells explained. Tony To, HomeSight's deputy director, took charge ofthe project and began a series of coordinatingsessions involving the plant, the City of Seattle, theState of Washington Department of Labor andIndustry, and local contractors. "At first, the contractors were concerned for their lackof comprehension as to what their jobs andresponsibilities would be related to this totally newconstruction process," To said. "However, I was ableto carefully work through their bid proposals andweed out the excess costs which I determined to bestrictly the result of fear of the unknown. Thecontingencies got eliminated, and the contractorsplaced a lot of faith in my assurances." In reviewing his constructioncosts, To estim

4 ates thatHomeSight will save 10% to15% o
ates thatHomeSight will save 10% to15% on this first phase,compared to "conventional"building costs. "Even withthe mistakes we made andwith our learning curve, weare coming out ahead", Tosaid, "and I expect toeventually achieve a costsaving of 25% to 30% afterwe ramp up our speed and learn from our initialmistakes."Since HomeSight's costs for site preparation and forthe foundations are roughly equal to its site-builthome construction, To credits this savings factor tothe home itself, from the top of the foundation sill upto the roof. None of the savings are a result oflowered standards, To insists. "We're shooting for thesame standards of quality in material andworkmanship as we require in our site-built homes." These savings are a salvation to HomeSight. In recentyears, HomeSight had squeezed every penny out ofits site-construction costs through efficiencies, which,To says, had pulled $15,000 to $20,000 out of thecost of building each home. But those savings werenegated in the late 1990's by escalating land,construction and regulatory costs. "We were rightback where we started", To said. "Then we startedconsidering manufactured housing. And it's payingoff." Community development corporations like HomeSightmust constantly find ways to build more effectively, ifthey are to provide owner-occupied housing. Manygovernment subsidies currently go toward rentals.Even though HomeSight does much of the work withits own employees, it has "maxed out," utilizing everyefficiency it could possibly adopt. Using manufacturedhousing allows it to bring the factory's built-inefficiencies to the site. The second major benefit now helping HomeSight inits program is a large savings in time. Prior tobeginning

5 Noji Gardens, To was allowing four to f
Noji Gardens, To was allowing four to fivemonths for the complete construction cycle per home.With labor becoming increasingly scarce, the outlookfor recovering some of this time was grim. HomeSight's first eight homes are being completed in2 to 3 months, already a dramatic improvement. Tofigures to have that time down to 30 days per homewhen he has all of his systems optimized andratcheted into the manufactured home cycle. Noji Gardens is selling two basic models fromMarlette Homes. First, a four-module dwelling iscomprised of two downstairs and two upstairs unitsmeasuring 12 feet by 30 feet 4 inches each. The totalfootprint of this home is 24 feet by 30 feet 4 inches,for a total living area on two levels of more than1,400 square feet. HomeSight and Marlette will offerseveral plan variations within this basic structure,with 3 and 4 bedrooms. Click to view floor plan. The second configuration consists of two modules,each 15 feet 10 inches by 39 feet. One section stacksdirectly over the other, to create a 3 bedroom, 2 bathhome, with an integrated front porch on the first-floormodule. Adding flexibility to the two-section model,HomeSight site builds an adjacent and attachedtwo-story structure to add a first floor garage andbonus room, plus two additional bedrooms on thesecond level. Marlette prepares the homes for shipment bywrapping the exterior in temporary plastic sheathingto protect the home from debris and water on thehighway. The homes' final exterior surfacing --horizontal vinyl siding -- is installed by HomeSightonce the modules are stacked and interconnected. To achieve the requisite roof pitch to match homes inthe Rainier Valley neighborhood, the manufacturermakes use of a hin

6 ged roof design. This technique --common
ged roof design. This technique --common in the eastern half of the country but rarelyused in the west -- permits the home to travel wellunder statutory highway height limitations[necessitated by bridges, powerlines, and otheroverhead obstructions], yet be lifted into position onsite to result in a full 8/12 roof pitch. Noji Gardens was named byHomeSight in honor of theNoji family, who operated anursery, ColumbiaGreenhouse, on the landbeginning in 1918. In 1996,the fourth generation of thefamily moved ColumbiaGreenhouse to south KingCounty. Shortly after,HomeSight begannegotiating for the purchase of the Noji property andtwo adjacent parcels to combine into the 6.5-acreNoji Gardens development. As is HomeSight's customary practice, neighborhoodcouncils were enrolled in the design and planningstages for the property. While desiring to keep thehomes affordable for area residents, the groups alsoexpressed an emphasis on good design tocomplement the blend of existing homes and Seattle'surban forest setting. Homes at Noji Gardens will sell for $155,000 to$225,000, for 3 and 4 bedroom, 2 bath modelscontaining 1,300 to 1,400 square feet, plus attachedgarage. Well below King County's median prices, thehomes represent excellent value to home buyers ofmodest means.Further assisting buyers in stretchinghome purchase dollars, Noji Gardens is located withinthe City of Seattle's Tax Abatement Area. Up to 54property owners will be able to defer property taxeson their homes. HomeSight estimates that theapproximate $100 per month in property tax savingsis equal to extending the purchasing ability of thehomeowner by another $16,000. Washington still does not enjoy statewide permitteduse of manufactured h

7 omes in residentially zoned areas. But a
omes in residentially zoned areas. But as pioneering developments like NojiGardens begin to have their effect on public opinion,the other big cities are certain to follow suit and relaxthe longstanding regulatory barriers to these homes.The cities of Vancouver and Tacoma, for example, stillbar HUD-code homes from residential districts. Butaccording to Joan Brown, they're watching NojiGardens carefully. The continued efforts on the part of forward-thinkingmanufacturers to solve some of the issues related toHUD-code construction in urban environments willresult in the opening of many new markets formanufactured homes. Once mainly relegated to ruralsites or to manufactured home parks, HUD-codehomes are increasingly finding their way intoAmerica's biggest cities. Two-story designs inparticular will help legitimize their use on expensiveurban lots, permitting twice the square footage perground footprint than before. Already, Mike Wolf,Marlette's general manager, reports severaladditional developments which plan to make full useof these homes. And he's counting on many more. As these markets begin to reveal themselves, othermanufacturers will join in the competitive fray,bringing many more choices and lower pricing todevelopers-public and private-who can benefit by theuse of manufactured housing. Steve Hullibarger's company, The Home Team,provides consulting services to builders anddevelopers who use manufactured homes in theircommunities. He can be reached at (916) 965-5153or by e-mail at sghull@ix.netcom.com. The Manufactured Housing Institute 2101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 610 Arlington, Virginia 22201-3062 Phone: 703/558-0400 Fax: 703/558-0401. info@mfghome.org http://www.manufacturedhousing.or