According to a recent interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting, “Cottage clusters, townhouses and duplexes are some of the forms of housing commonly referred to as ‘missing middle housing.’ Zoning rules have previously left them out, but that’s starting to change…”
Where will all the people live? Urban density, its pros and cons, and the rules and regulations cities will need to increasingly consider in order to keep their populations housed are at the center of so much conversation today, and almost nowhere more so than the United States West Coast. Last spring, long-time PDX Modern Home Tour supporters Oregon Homeworks (through their SNUG brand) and M.O.Daby Design (MODD) showcased a “middle housing development. Now, we’re back for a conversation on this evolving area of home design and construction.
Our interview with Matt Daby of M.O.Daby Design was part 1. Read on for the builder’s perspective with Eric Thompson of SNUG.
As a homebuilder and developer, what are the advantages and opportunities that middle housing provides, and what needs are being addressed?
Eric Thompson: For Oregon Homeworks, the opportunity lies in the new middle housing building code allowing us to build houses for the 80% of buyers that are not a nuclear family (married couple with kids) and therefore don’t need a traditional (i.e., larger) single family home. We believe that our new “Snug” lineup of homes better addresses the needs of many of today’s buyers, including single adults, young couples, empty nesters, single parents and really anyone looking for a smaller footprint home without sacrificing things such as high efficiency systems, great walkable neighborhoods, private fenced yards, and great architecturally designed spaces with high-end finishes.
What challenges did you have to overcome to put this project together?
Eric Thompson: The biggest challenge of the project, and others we are developing that are similar, comes from the simple fact that middle housing hasn’t been built in the Portland market for several decades. As such, we are reinventing how these homes are designed and constructed, and how the overall project is coordinated, much like a start-up company developing a new product. Many of the traditional ways of building don’t apply, nor are there trades with experience in this type of project. Every day we learn something new that we can apply to future builds.
Did you envision this style of housing to become a core for Oregon Homeworks (and other local developers) going forward?
Eric Thompson: Via our Snug lineup of homes, Oregon Homeworks is now 100% focused on the middle housing market, both via For Sale homes, as well as building for other developers and property owners who want to take advantage of the new building code.
