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Workforce Housing, Creative Land Planning Work Together
By Donald F. Evans, AIA and Byron “Kerry” Godwin, III, RLA, AICP, The Evans Group
With the decrease in availability of attainable housing, many elected officials are requiring workforce housing to be incorporated into every new development. Successful developers know that creative land planning is the key to incorporating workforce housing into their communities.
Developers of both large- and small-scale communities are answering this growing need for attainable housing through creative planning solutions that incorporate varied housing types. Examples of two solutions follow:
Community One: A Less Expensive Starting Point
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TND community in Delaware.
© Copyright The Evans Group, all rights reserved. |
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Click for larger image. | The first is a large-scale community in Delaware designed as a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) village to repeat and reinforce the local community fabric.
The coveted (and more expensive) property in Delaware is along the coast and is famous for the sunshine, water and slower lifestyle. This particular site is landward and provides housing for buyers who don’t want to spend the extra money associated with the shore.
The community primarily features single-family detached homes on 50-foot and 65-foot home sites, along with duplexes and 28-foot- and 20-foot-wide town homes. A portion of these multifamily homes will be allocated as workforce housing.
Community amenities will include a town center, recreational lifestyle center and numerous parks and trails ― all within a five-minute walk of most of the homes.
When completed, the 426-acre community will have 1,603 homes at 3.76 units per acre.
Community Two: A Joint Venture With a Church and Habitat for Humanity
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TND community in Sarasota County, Fla.
© Copyright The Evans Group, all rights reserved. |
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Click for larger image. | The second community is on a smaller site, just 40 acres in Sarasota County, Fla. and, when completed, will have 202 single-family attached and detached units at 5.05 units per acre. The community is being developed through a joint venture between a private developer, a community church and Habitat for Humanity.
The plan creates a TND walking village of market-rate homes, with the homes surrounding either a large man-made lake in the center of the community, or smaller intimate park areas that are overlooked by 10 residences each.
Market-rate housing in the community will be on 37-foot by 110-foot home sites. Workforce housing will be in town homes or single-family homes on 42-foot by 90-foot home sites. Habitat for Humanity housing will be on 42-foot by 72-foot home sites.
All the residences in the community are lane-loaded for garage or surface parking, with designated on-street parking for guests.
A large buffer surrounds the perimeter of the community, with all units facing inward.
Just as attainable housing does not have to be unattractive, neither do the land plans. There is plenty of opportunity for attractive and creative architecture and land plans in the attainable housing market.
Don Evans, AIA is founder and president and Kerry Godwin, III, RLA, AICP is vice president /director of planning of The Evans Group architecture and planning firm, which is headquartered in Orlando, Fla. Evans is a nationally recognized design and planning consultant, specializing in architectural design, land planning, landscape architecture and architectural interiors. For more information, e-mail Evans at devans@theevansgroup.com or visit The Evans Group Web site at www.theevansgroup.com.
Free
 NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Cooling Market
With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of next year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.
To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.
For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.
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