Factory-built housing: an answer to affordability questions?

New Urban News Article with images, 9/1/2004

The potential grows for using manufactured and modular units in new urban developments.

In 1991 a new urban plan called Rosa Vista was created for a manufactured home community in Mesa, Arizona. That plan, by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), was never built, largely because no manufacturer could be found that would meet the design code. But over the last decade, the factory-built housing industry has evolved in ways that should encourage new urbanists to think seriously about this type of construction. Among the changes cited by experts:

• Two-story units have become commonplace.
• New techniques for hinging roofs have made it possible to transport units with higher roof pitches.
• To overcome the negative image associated with single- and double-wide trailers, manufacturers are paying more attention to design details.
• Use of higher-grade materials, such as fiber-cement siding in place of vinyl, is becoming more common. Even brick or stucco siding can be used — although these have to be applied on site.
• The industry is working increasingly in infill locations. This trend started with the Manufactured Housing Institute’s 1998 five-city Urban Design Project, according to Thayer Long of the MHI. Since then, many manufacturers have initiated infill projects or provided housing for them in cities such as Cincinnati, Seattle, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Oakland.
• Manufacturers, who historically focused on the retail market, are now more inclined to work directly with developers and builders.