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In Oklahoma, aff ordable homes without wood are taking shape New development uses insulating concrete forms Richard Mize The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK
OKLAHOMA CITY – A diff erent kind of pocket neighborhood is being stitched onto the fabric of one of the oldest parts of Oklahoma City: The Village on Walnut, 22 new houses anchored by a historic home at NE 26 and Walnut Avenue. It’s diff erent because of the nonprofi t partnership developing it, the construction technique and materials used – insulating concrete forms, not lumber, think Legos fi lled with concrete – and because the land, until now, has been untouched since before statehood. The nonprofi ts, Positively Paseo and Jeff erson Park Neighbors Association, went together in their fi rst joint project with The Village on Walnut. They are community housing development organizations – CHDOs – dedicated to revitalizing Oklahoma City’s urban core. They bought the 2.5 acres, which had never been platted, and the two-story home at 141 NE 26, built in 1911 and on the National Register of Historic Places, in 2019. It took until this year to get this far. The new houses will range from 700 to 1,600 square feet in size and start at $99,000. Homeowners will share common green spaces, a pavilion with fi re pit and other amenities. It’s a dense neighborhood designed to foster community. It’s the most ambitious project ever undertaken by an Oklahoma City community housing development organization, according to the city.
Insulating concrete forms, not wood, are being used to build houses at The Village on Walnut in Oklahoma City. PHOTOS BY BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN
About The Village on Walnut The developers used about $1 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding administered by the city to pay for infrastructure for The Village on Walnut. Because of that, half of the homes have to be aff ordable to people at or below 80% of area median income. They’ve also received HOME funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help keep costs within reach of buyers. “We literally could not have done it alone. The partnerships were critical and the city’s participation is making everything possible,” said Sheryl Lovelady, executive director of Positively Paseo. The fi rst eight homes are under construction, four by Positively Paseo and four by Jeff erson Park. Ross Chapin, the architect considered the father of pocket neighborhoods and author of the book by that name,
Work continues on a home at The Village on Walnut, a neighborhood development project in Oklahoma City.
personally consulted on the project, Lovelady said.
Insulating concrete forms Homes in The Village on Walnut are being built with insulating concrete forms, ICF, not lumber, an alternative kind of construction. Fox Blocks, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is the supplier. A builder sets cast-in-place concrete
walls poured between two layers of insulation. For designers and builders, ICF construction is faster, because it’s not slowed by wet or freezing weather, and it meets or exceeds “increasingly strict energy codes for insulation,” according to the Insulating Concrete Forms Manufacturers Association. For homeowners, “Constructing with ICFs reduces the building’s carbon foot-
print and saves money on energy bills and reduced maintenance and repairs when compared to traditional building methods, such as wood frame construction,” the association said. ICF construction is is usually used in single or small building projects, or neighborhoods emphasizing sustainability. Building 22 houses with ICFs puts The Village on Walnut in a class by itself. Home inspector and educator Jack Werner, who introduced Positively Paseo and Jeff erson Park to ICFs, put the method in the same category as Fortifi ed construction, which meets strict storm safety standards. “In my opinion, ICF construction and Fortifi ed construction are the two greatest improvements to construction in the last 50 years,” said Werner, owner of OKC’s A to Z Inspections. “If I had to pick only one, it would be ICFs because, if done correctly, it will accomplish Fortifi ed standards as well.” He added: “It will reduce your utility bills by at least 50%. That cost is going to continue to increase. If instructions are followed, ICF homes meet FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) standards for a storm shelter! Wow! Great sound-proofi ng/suppression from the outside. When you live in the city, this is a valuable benefi t.” See AFFORDABLE, Page 3H
Mortgage rate slips after climbing 7 weeks in a row Alex Veiga ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES – The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell slightly this week, ending a seven-week climb – modest relief for prospective homebuyers grappling with an increasingly unaff ordable housing market. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell to 7.76% from 7.79% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.95%. “The 30-year fi xed-rate mortgage paused its multiweek climb but continues to hover under 8%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. Borrowing costs on 15-year fi xed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refi nancing their home loan, held
steady. The average rate was unchanged from last week at 7.03%. A year ago, it averaged 6.29%, Freddie Mac said. High rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can aff ord in a market already out of reach for many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in rock-bottom rates in recent years from selling. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now more than double what it was two years ago, when it was just 3.09%. The average rate on a 30-year home loan climbed above 6% in September 2022 and has remained above that threshold since. The combination of rising mortgage rates and home prices have weighed on See MORTGAGE, Page 3H
“The 30-year fi xed-rate mortgage paused its multiweek climb but continues to hover under 8%,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP FILE
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