2/7 Newsletter
2/7 Newsletter
Happy February. Yes, it's already February! We are getting ready to "start" and then quickly finish our project in Easthampton to make room for next several homeowners that are ready build their own backyard homes. Florence seems to be the mecca of interested homeowners and we expect our next several projects to occur there.
We are also getting ready to expand our team with both SEO/website expertise and marketing leads. We are currently trying to recruit a few individuals to join us as part-owners and we will also leverage help from a marketing agency or freelancers. We realized the biggest impediment to building a backyard home is getting information about financing, construction options, planning, permits, etc and this crew will help us distribute this information. These folks will be instrumental in helping us hit our goal of inspiring 1,000 people to build backyard homes by 2025 (yes, "inspire", we only partly care if we build them)
1/21 – 2/7 News
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City Updates:
Easthampton is preparing updates to its ADU bylaw. The updates should be handed off to city council in the next few months. Please email your councilor to voice your support.
Springfield is starting to discuss adopting Tiny Home Appendix Q to allow developers to be more creative in creating quality housing that happens to be affordable.
Greenfield is holding a public hearing on 2/11 to discuss increasing density in their town center districts to spur development of smaller dwellings to diversify their housing stock.
Portland Maine is preparing a sweeping update to their zoning ordinance, which includes allowing detached ADUs by right and easing size limitations.
Do you have an update about your city/town? Email us and we'll include it in our next newsletter.
Events:
Easthampton Library
When: 2/12 @ 6:30
Amherst Senior Center:
When: 3/2 @ 6:30
Register: https://www.facebook.com/events/272656140376848/
Stayed tuned for events in Pelham, Greenfield and a "how to" on building and then selling micro-cottages on your land.
If you'd like to partner on an information session, please ask! Our first event at the Easthampton COA had 16,000 impressions and 429 responses without a coherent marketing strategy. We'd love to partner with realtors, banks, schools, churches, breweries, etc!
MORE NEWS!
Update on the Easthampton Project
Our construction schedule is locked in!
Site work (utilities & foundation): 2/17-2/21
Break for the foundation to cure
Delivery of modular components: 3/10
Set Day: 3/12 (This is when we "make the house fly")
Florence Project
We've started working with a family in Florence to create a 2-bedroom and 2-bathroom backyard home. This is a modified version of The Jordan that creates private space for a live-in-aid. We love the concept and have had a blast working with the family on it!
This project will require a special permit so we tentatively expect to break ground in April or May.
Partnership With Western Mass Tiny House Initiative
We've started working with Christy Torres and the Western Mass Tiny House Initiative to develop a micro cottage community in Springfield to anchor neighborhoods and provide quality housing that happens to be affordable. The partnership is continuing to evolve, but Christy and her team brings deep community connection, compassion and understanding, while Backyard ADUs brings development expertise and quality construction at prices people can afford.
We anticipate building communities of not so tiny, tiny homes that the inhabitants own as legal detached condos.
Two-Story Concept
We started work on a 2-story backyard home for homeowners that want a second floor bedroom and need to minimize the home's footprint in their yard. The home is our first stab at quasi-modern design. Stay tuned for more information, better photos, and pricing in the weeks to come.
Above Your Garage
We were just approached by the 3rd homeowner asking if we could covert a garage or add a backyard home on top of it.
One homeowner wanted to rebuild their falling down garage and include an apartment on top so the rental income could pay for the repairs!
The second homeowner wanted to build an apartment above their garage.
The third homeowner wanted to build a brand new garage on their property and include an apartment on top so the rental income could pay for their new covered parking spot. Brilliant!
As a note, in New England we do not encourage garage conversions because of the huge impact that removing a garage has on a home's value. It's alway better to find a way to build a new unit and keep the existing garage.
Here is an example from Vancouver that will inspire our new designs (photo courtesy of my brother):
Over the garage small home (ADU)