University Homes
The name of this house type was derived from the single-family neighborhood houses to the east of the University of Arizona built in the 1920s. Karol George and his company, KE&G, took on the task of building in this particular type. He and his firm were established home builders in Tucson. They had a reputation for well-built houses and also did land development work for others. During the mid-1980s housing boom, when IBM came to Tucson to build hard discs for its new personal computer business, KE&G went big time, offering houses that would appeal to the “out-of-towners” that were then arriving to Arizona. They got overextended when IBM pulled out less than five years later. They vowed to never get beyond the average market again, and just offer what were then tried and true sprawl subdivision houses. What attracted them to Civano was the project’s emphasis on community and quality, and by implication, the creation of a place that was good for families. As a local builder, KE&G offered more options and a greater ability to modify their plans than national builders, and that was an important factor for their eventual success. Their experienced field crews believed in quality construction and were ready to learn new techniques. They were also intrigued by the development team’s promise to bring in experts to help their builders to build in an environmentally responsible way. Of all the builders in Neighborhood One, KE&G was the most open and welcoming to the training that IBACOS offered. They produced three models: the Classic bungalow, which was loved by the market and was their bestseller at 1,835 sf; the Zaguan bungalow, their moderate seller at 1,556 sf; and their split courtyard entry home, which was not well-received by the market because these homes proved to be too expensive, at 1,850 sf. Two of this last model were built as part of a developer deal with the American Lung Association. The design habits of KE&G, like those of most builders, were developed through years of standard development practices and were hard to break. The architectural designs produced during the Master Plan charrette were not considered by KE&G. There was no cooperative design process with, or by phase site plans drawn by, Moule & Polyzoides. As a result, there was no attention given to the frontage of the houses to the public realm or to their relationship with each other. The developer had received $30,000 from the State to aid in home design. There was a hard demand that only local architects be used to design these houses. Well-regarded local architect Paul Weiner had worked with the City on plans for a book called Sustainable Design, A Plan Book for Sonoran Desert Dwellings. It was decided to use some of these plans for the University Homes. While the model plans were good in principle, they were conceived as individual dwellings, rather than as ensembles, and suffered when placed next to each other and against the public realm of the street. The final construction quality of the buildings was high. These were probably the best-built homes of Neighborhood One. They tested very well in terms of energy efficiency. They incorporated many local architectural elements: pitched roofs, outdoor spaces that extended indoor rooms, front porches, etc. But there was little or no variety in design from building to building, and their intended break with uniformity was forced. For example, they mixed metal and tile roofs. The tiled roof buildings seemed unresponsive to Barrio, El Presidio, and other Southwestern precedents, and unconvincing in the pattern of their application to particular sites.
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While working at Civano, KE&G got sued over some ridiculous construction issue on another local development. They decided they were done with home building and abandoned their further interests in Neighborhood One. They sold their lots and home designs to Richmond American, a small national/ regional builder. Quality went down a bit, as Richmond American was never on board with the Civano development and design approach. They also abandoned the project after about a year. Bednar homes then bought up the remaining lots and completed the construction of this portion of the project.
