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How To Hire Us For Housing

Eric Kronberg

As passionate architects and urban designers, we have had the privilege of engaging with a diverse array of new clients across the country in recent years. Each conversation begins with a sort of dance—an exploration of goals and aspirations to uncover opportunities for collaboration. After much reflection, we’ve decided it’s time to clearly articulate this process, so here it goes!

 

Let’s Start with Why

At the heart of every meaningful dialogue about housing, we must first address the fundamental question: Why?  Why do you wake up every day committed to your work, and why do we wake up with a shared mission? For us, it’s about elevating the quality of life in our communities. We envision neighborhoods that are not just vibrant and lasting, but inclusive and accessible for all. Inclusivity cannot exist without attainability. After more than 20 years of wrestling with the many barriers that hinder the creation of new attainable housing and the revitalization of existing spaces, our mission is clear: we strive to enhance attainability in walkable, connected neighborhoods across the country. This mission encompasses not only residential areas but also commercial and civic spaces. While our focus here will center on housing, we also champion neighborhood retail and main street revitalization—because who doesn’t love a good local coffee shop?

 

Confirming Our Shared Vision (OR Let’s Verify Our Dance Steps)

The first step in this collaborative journey is to establish whether the flourishing of neighborhoods is a primary goal. This often leads us to discuss residential or commercial attainability. It’s crucial to understand that attainability operates on a sliding scale, influenced by the unique economic contexts of each location. For instance, urban neighborhoods near downtown Memphis will have different income parameters than those in Cape Cod or Atlanta. But here’s the essential truth: our housing strategies are effective across all these diverse settings.  We know because we’re working in all of these communities!

 

Words Matter: The Language of Housing

Now, let’s talk about the words we use.  We consciously choose the term “attainability” over “affordability.” The term “affordable housing” carries a significant amount of baggage, often evoking a wide range of interpretations. It means different things to different people, and let’s be honest, most folks are scared of having “affordable housing” show up next door. Cold, hard truth.

 

Similarly, we’ve received feedback on the term “workforce housing.”  Workforce housing is intended to describe housing for people making more income than those qualifying for deeply subsidized housing, but still unable to afford market prices. While this term is widely used in places like Atlanta, it risks perpetuating a stigma around affordable housing by implying that those living in it aren’t working hard. Spoiler alert: many of them are juggling multiple jobs just to keep food on the table!


This is why we prefer “attainability”—it’s about creating housing options that people can genuinely access, regardless of their economic background.  The graphic below shows how these different terms typically relate to Area Median Income (AMI), a highly used shorthand in the housing discussion.


Understanding the Economics of Attainability

When we talk about attainable housing, we’re primarily focused on individuals and families earning between $40,000 and $100,000, depending on their location. Our aim is to create housing solutions that require little to no subsidy, targeting those who have workable credit scores and could qualify for a loan- if only there were homes at achievable price points. Often, our nonprofit partners bolster this effort through local grants, credit repair counseling, and down payment assistance. Some projects even benefit from discounted land or property tax incentives provided by local governments or nonprofits. It’s like having a housing potluck where everyone brings something to the table!  Another spoiler alert, the more adaptable your local zoning, the less incentives are required for the picnic to be a success.  

The Zoning Ziggurat (OR Navigating the Red Tape)

This is where the second step of our journey becomes critical. While promoting attainability is paramount, we must also navigate the existing regulatory environment, which often poses significant barriers. In over 90%+/- of cases we assist with, the city’s typical zoning regulations make it explicitly or functionally illegal to provide the housing that our communities so desperately need. For instance, building a single home on a standard lot rarely yields viable outcomes, and mandates for two parking spaces per unit is often a project’s death knell for projects with more homes.

 

A Growing Movement for Change

The good news? Most barriers are self-imposed, meaning they can be solved at the local level with a motivated community paired with engaged leadership. To tackle these zoning roadblocks, we founded Inc Codes, a company dedicated to helping smaller to mid-sized cities and towns find their way through the zoning maze. Our experience with self-development and our partnership teaching with the Incremental Development Alliance have equipped us with the knowledge to create profitable projects—those that generate more revenue than costs. These projects empower nonprofits to enhance affordability while minimizing reliance on subsidies, and they enable for-profit developers to construct the attainable housing we need at greater scale. And guess what? More cities are starting to improve their land use permissions, which opens the door for us to work with more for-profit developers.


Home Ownership or Attainable Rental

Next up, we need to determine the ownership goals for your project: Are we promoting homeownership, increasing rental attainability, or both? If homeownership is the primary goal, we often focus on adorable IRC (International Residential Code) cottages that can be built and sold fee-simple—fingers crossed that local subdivision ordinances allow it! For rental projects, we can certainly deploy those charming cottages, but we also have a treasure trove of “missing middle” housing options. These include two- and three-story walkup buildings—what we lovingly call our “plexes.” Whether it’s fourplexes, sixplexes, or even twelveplexes, these designs are versatile and effective in meeting the diverse housing needs of our communities. Plexes must conform to IBC (International Building Code) in a majority of jurisdictions.  This is a more complex set of requirements that results in a more expensive building, but the additional units provided often makes up for the extra work.

 

Our Collaborative Process: How We Can Help

Once we’ve aligned on our “why,” it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get into the “how.” Here’s a sneak peek into our process:

 

Project Scale: Finding the Right Fit

Before you reach out, let’s chat about the scale of your project. If you’re thinking about a single lot infill in a far-off location with complex zoning regulations and a hefty dose of modifications, we may need to gently redirect your enthusiasm. It’s like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole—not the best way to start!

 

We may be able to assist with multiple smaller lot infill projects when there is simple, permissive zoning.  This idyllic zoning can be really hard to find though.   We thrive on projects involving 1-10 acre parcels that could accommodate 20-100 units, especially if some zoning adjustments are needed.  We’ve tackled larger projects too (think 50-300 acres), but our sweet spot is still those smaller, infill communities. Once we’ve designed a larger project for an area, smaller lot infill becomes much easier.


And don’t worry—we treat local calibration costs as one-time fees, which means you won’t be dinged for future projects in the same area.

 

The Curated Catalogue

We’ve put in years of hard work refining our Housing Choice Companion- a catalogue of small-format cottages that come as singles, two-packs, and four-packs. These structures are designed to nestle together on larger sites, forming delightful cottage courts, typically at a density of 12-18 units per acre. Think of them as the adorable puppies of the housing world—simple, cute, and easy to build, with good porches that invite community interaction. We design these cottages with 2-foot construction intervals and incorporate a variety of effective practices taught in our Incremental Development classes.  This step is crucial because our refined catalogue allows clients to explore our Housing Choice Companion and select their preferred units in advance.

 

Site Studies That Shine

Next up is conducting an initial site study. Our urban design team will create this site investigation that aligns closely with your housing selections. Typically, our initial engagement involves incorporating unit types and providing a site study to determine potential yields. We can even throw in a sample construction documents package for a few cottages to give you an early glimpse of pricing for your project pro formas.

 

These site studies aren’t just fluff; they serve as essential entitlement tools when rezoning or variances are required. They provide civil engineers with a solid foundation for their initial designs, enabling a schematic civil design that sets the stage for horizontal pricing.

 

Attainable Construction Documents

Another invaluable resource in our toolkit is our stock cottage and “plex” construction documents library. This allows us to provide attainable construction drawings based on finished products. The designs are intentionally straightforward and familiar, making them fit seamlessly into most communities. We can easily modify them to comply with local building codes and aesthetics—whether it’s tweaking porches, exterior finishes, or trim to ensure compatibility. Sure, there are costs associated with these modifications, but when our base design fees are reasonable, the math tends to work out favorably. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved!

 

Expert Construction Coordination

We pride ourselves on being architects who understand the development process deeply. Our extensive experience in construction allows us to assist you with coordination, whether it’s virtually or on-site. We can scale up or down assistance needed on a per project basis.  Think of us as your partners in navigating the construction process, ensuring that the project stays on track to achieve a more equitable housing solution.

 

Development Savvy: We Know Our Stuff!

By now, you’ve probably gathered that we know a thing or two about development. In fact, we engage in our own development projects to prove that our ideas aren’t just theoretical—they work in practice! It’s much easier to convince someone when they can see a successful project up close and personal. We bring this expertise to every engagement, offering guidance on budgets, phasing, and overall site strategies when needed.

 

While we do charge for more extensive development guidance, you can rest assured that our foundational knowledge is baked right into our overall approach.

 

Let’s Connect and Make a Difference!

If you find that your “why” aligns with ours, we’d love to hear from you! Don’t hesitate to reach out with your thoughts, questions, or even just to share your favorite housing-related joke (we collect those, too!). This process is all about collaboration and learning, and we see it as an iterative journey where we can improve and refine our strategies together.

 

By adding more housing options, we are not just addressing a crisis; we are fostering communities where diversity flourishes and where every resident has the opportunity to thrive. Housing is a fundamental right, and it is our duty as architects and urban designers to champion solutions that dismantle barriers and promote equity.

 

So let’s embark on this journey together! Reach out to us, and let’s explore how we can harness our combined passions and expertise to create housing solutions that truly make a difference. After all, the goal is to ensure that everyone has a place to call home—a place that reflects their identity and nurtures their aspirations.

 

Together, we can reshape our neighborhoods, making them more accessible and attainable for all. Here’s to building a future where every community member can find their place in a vibrant, diverse, and equitable landscape.

Let’s connect and make it happen!

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