Micro-home urban infill

[dwellsokc]

Cool concept... think there's a market in OKC? http://www.bigbuilderonline.com/post...=NWBD110513002

[Thunder]

Yes. It has been discussed randomly across the forum with pictures here and there.

I think they are way too overpriced for such smaller spaces. Can anyone explain why these people are price-gouging?

For me, I prefer a nice brick with nice rock/stone house. It looks better that way with landscaping.

[dwellsokc]

400 sq.ft. is the size of a small 2-car garage... You could build a LUXURY unit in OKC for under $60,000 (remember Portland prices are skewed). I think there'd be a demand for rentals if they were cool enough...

[Spartan]

Yes. It has been discussed randomly across the forum with pictures here and there.

I think they are way too overpriced for such smaller spaces. Can anyone explain why these people are price-gouging?

For me, I prefer a nice brick with nice rock/stone house. It looks better that way with landscaping.

Price-gouging? No, it's a "real" price for real-estate that is built to last longer than 20 years... the typical Ideal Homes house is hideous to me.

Hey Dennis, you've been doing some REALLY awesome work in SoSA. Ever since the SoSA redevelopment began, how many new homes are we looking at? Is it in the 10-15 range yet?

Keep up the good work!

[mcca7596]

I like the concept, but I didn't see anything that said they are meant to last longer or even that they are LEED certified or anything. We can't just assume that since they are urban in design and concept that they are of a higher quality than a starter suburban home.

[dwellsokc]

mcca: you're right, quality is a function of the builder's mindset. (LEED is a meaningless metric, and waste of effort.)

Spartan: There are 10-11 'projects' in SoSA, but I only track them... I've only built one (the one I live in)!

[Rover]

mcca: you're right, quality is a function of the builder's mindset. (LEED is a meaningless metric, and waste of effort.)

Spartan: There are 10-11 'projects' in SoSA, but I only track them... I've only built one (the one I live in)!

LEED isn't meaningless. However, it can be misleading. LEED points are generated in a broad range of ways. It can be meaningful. Most consumers have no idea what LEED or its various levels mean or how it is obtained. Like with anything, you have to do a little studying to see if what it is is meaningful and a priority to YOU. Be an educated consumer. But don't just dismiss it because you don't know what it really is.

[dwellsokc]

LEED isn't meaningless... Be an educated consumer. But don't just dismiss it because you don't know what it really is.

Rover, I was the first architect in Oklahoma to become a LEED Accredited Professional. I really know what it is: a shameful, money-making scheme by the USGBC that results in nothing but a fancy plaque. Good, common sense design automatically results in 'sustainable' buildings ... only weak designers (and ignorant owners) need a manufactured 'rating system' to validate their misdirected lust to save the planet.

(Sorry for dumping on you Rover, but the current state of green-washing makes me ill... It's an embarrassing fad that should be encouraged to die, sooner rather than later!)

I'd be happy to debate the merits of LEED with anybody...

[king183]

Rover, I was the first architect in Oklahoma to become a LEED Accredited Professional. I really know what it is: a shameful, money-making scheme by the USGBC that results in nothing but a fancy plaque. Good, common sense design automatically results in 'sustainable' buildings ... only weak designers (and ignorant owners) need a manufactured 'rating system' to validate their misdirected lust to save the planet.

(Sorry for dumping on you Rover, but the current state of green-washing makes me ill... It's an embarrassing fad that should be encouraged to die, sooner rather than later!)

I'd be happy to debate the merits of LEED with anybody...

This is something I've heard from an increasing number of architects. I think there was even a relatively recent NPR story on how many now view LEED as a "scam." I'll try to find it if anyone is interested.

[Spartan]

Rover, I was the first architect in Oklahoma to become a LEED Accredited Professional. I really know what it is: a shameful, money-making scheme by the USGBC that results in nothing but a fancy plaque. Good, common sense design automatically results in 'sustainable' buildings ... only weak designers (and ignorant owners) need a manufactured 'rating system' to validate their misdirected lust to save the planet.

(Sorry for dumping on you Rover, but the current state of green-washing makes me ill... It's an embarrassing fad that should be encouraged to die, sooner rather than later!)

I'd be happy to debate the merits of LEED with anybody...

Woah. So I should immediately stop pursuing a degree in environmental design, eh? I can see where someone would think that though, there are some fees for applying for a review from them. Still Dennis, I think you would appreciate the idea of a private 501(c)(3) professional organization encouraging people to meet the metric rather than the European model of governments requiring all new projects to meet the metric anyway. Maybe that would be more efficient, but you have to agree that the LEED buildings will last hundreds of years longer than most non-LEED buildings. Just take a drive down Memorial Rd or through Moore if you want to see a built-environment disaster..

I thought you were the architect of record for many of the other SoSA projects? I like the FreeSoSA website, too.

[bluedogok]

We have done a few LEED Certified projects in our office but we have more demand for what we call "LEED Principled" projects. The owner/developer wants us to design the project to LEED standards where it makes the most sense but have no desire to get projects certified. Most are concerned more with sustainability more than any kind of certification.

[betts]

I like row houses better. I'd rather own one floor of a three flat, I think, probably because I prefer the exterior look. Otherwise I guess it's not really much different, in terms of how space is utilized.

[PennyQuilts]

Honestly, they look like a complete waste of money, to me. Go buy an old home and fix up the neighborhood. These are like clown cars with granite countertops. If you really want to go green, start a commune and have a smaller footprint. It looks to me like gross consumptionism - a yuppie suburbia that people get because it is cool.
That being said, I also think McMansions are insane. Wish people would go back to a nice little 1.5 bath, 3 bedroom bungalo and fix up their neighborhoods.

[Spartan]

I think micro-homes would succeed just about anywhere, mainly because it provides an affordable way to get into desirable areas. If well planned, and detailed to be radically hip, it’d be a no brainer for 20-something renters. To keep land cost down, you’d have to locate in a “marginal” location.

Well, part of the problem is that right now I don't think downtown housing can be made very affordable. We're a city with one real estate mode, and that's suburban. Anything that goes against that grain seems to have artificially inflated costs and lacks support services like grocery stores, etc. So how would it be comparably affordable in OKC?

I guess what I mean, in a broader general sense, is I don't see any feasible way of making this stuff real. How do you make OKC's inner city a real, functional, viable inner city real estate market? It seems like selling the novelty or the style of downtown living will, for the foreseeable future, be absolutely integral to development success. How do you turn the tide when it's so powerful (the suburban sprawl). When you start to realize what is going on in other cities, all of our wonderful "renaissance" in OKC starts to look like we're just treading water. I love OKC, don't get me wrong, I just think there are a few deep problems that need to be solved.

Honestly, they look like a complete waste of money, to me. Go buy an old home and fix up the neighborhood. These are like clown cars with granite countertops. If you really want to go green, start a commune and have a smaller footprint.

Well, unfortunately, communes aren't really raking in the dough these days lol.

[USG'60]

AMEN, Penny.

[PennyQuilts]

Old Fogies rule...

[PennyQuilts]

hahaha, communes never made much money. They'd generally disolve because the same three people out of twenty ended up constantly doing the dishes, picking up the laundry and taking out the garbage.

[Spartan]

Well, in Austin they do have some successful co-op housing models. Actually they're infinitely nicer than what I usually think of when I think of co-op housing (Co-Op City in the Bronx). They're very popular for the UT students wanting to live around downtown Austin.

[bluedogok]

LEED is also going through some changes, to everything for LEED 2.0. It will be much harder to obtain LEED accreditation if many of the things currently being discussed for LEED 2.0 come to fruition. The reasons for that have much to do with it being co-opted by many and finding the holes to exploit. Just like any other set of rules there are going to be those who exploit and circumvent the rules if they can realize some sort of gain.

[Spartan]

I think any organization that is a strong institution has manipulation issues. I'm not sure that this is unique to LEED. I would compare it to OCURA, which could soon be replaced with some far less democratic. Obviously OCURA is preferable to the Alliance controlling urban renewal assets and dictating public redevelopment efforts. That doesn't mean I could ever 100% stand by OCURA, because we all know they screw up, a LOT.

Just because you can't stand by LEED 100% doesn't mean that it's 100% bad.