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Modular Construction Offers Solution To Housing Problems In Atlanta
IImpact Housing, a manufacturer of homes built with modular technology, put in its first modular home in Atlanta on March 7, in the historic Washington Park neighborhood.
The home was crane dropped in place in two hours on a Monday morning.
“Modular construction provides a path to revitalization of neighborhoods like Washington Park. Impact Housing offers top-rated, quality-engineered and designed modular construction to serve communities that are frustrated by the deficit of affordable housing for working families,” Cecil Phillips, the president and CEO of Impact Housing, said. “We are committed to providing affordable housing to these markets as part of community development, as well as by selling homes to third-party owners and developers.” »
Faced with a nationwide housing shortage, homes built with modular construction methods provide a well-priced alternative to traditional on-site construction and can be built in approximately half the time of a site-built home. Modular housing units are elements of a streamlined construction technology engineered to provide a solution to the housing shortage facing Atlanta and many other large metropolitan areas. Once attached to a foundation, modular homes are indistinguishable from site-built homes. They are built with traditional construction materials and comply with local building codes. Working families, like those in Washington Park, feel the effects of the housing crunch in both ownership opportunities and the price of rentals. Recent development in Washington Park and other west Atlanta communities, such as Hunter Hills and West End, have dramatically changed and priced out much of the historic resident base.
History of Washington Park Housing
The average annual income in Washington Park is $39,564, and nearly 70% of single-family homes are occupied by renters. Developed by 20th-century Black developer Heman Perry, Washington Park was Atlanta’s first planned Black neighborhood. Homes in the area include simple one- and two-story structures and were built between 1919 and 1958.
A new or newly renovated 5-bedroom home today in the area can go for $595,000, and the Washington Park home from Impact Housing is valued at about $375,000.
“As homes built decades ago begin to deteriorate, the accommodation has to be made to replace moderately priced homes with similar housing for the neighborhood to remain intact," Phillips said. The 1,312 square-foot house constructed by Impact Housing is designed to blend in with the architectural style of the neighborhood and includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The modular construction “quicker-to-market” approach to home building is a valuable tool for addressing housing shortages, especially in neighborhoods with lower median incomes.
The home will serve as a model for Atlanta-area builders and developers who can get a first-hand look at modular construction.
In the coming months, Impact Housing will site three additional homes on the west side of Atlanta — in Vine City — as part of the Invest Atlanta Down-Payment Assistance Program.
Learn more about modular construction and Impact Housing at www.impacthousing.global. MHV
