Miniature Condos? (24. July 2007, 11:55 by Derek Young) ~ You In?
This story was sent to us by a globe-trotting tipster:
In Tacoma, where our average new condo is $300 to $400 a square foot for at least 1000 square feet, would uber-small condos be marketable?
Los Angeles is considering zoning changes that would allow for condo units as small as 250 square feet. The purpose is to increase neighborhood density in an effort to get more people into downtown and help create a true sense of community. Of course, there are skeptics. I read the story and see similarities between many of the challenges we face. Yet, it’s LA. I don’t usually think of LA when I look for an example of our urban future…
Would this be the way to get more UWT students to live downtown? I aspire to small home living… but maybe not that small. It wouldn’t be for everybody, but maybe there’s a market. Who wants to try it?
Link to the LA Times
Commenting Is Closed
Comments are allowed for two weeks from the posted date. If you want to make a comment or reopen this discussion, please contact us with your request. Thank you for visiting.
Would this be the way to get more UWT students to live downtown? I aspire to small home living… but maybe not that small. It wouldn’t be for everybody, but maybe there’s a market. Who wants to try it?
Most college dorm rooms are very small. The city and UWT should encourage this type of housing for them as well. Of course, unless the parking requirement was changed, the parking garage for such a building would end up being far larger than the residential portion.
Average size of a parking space=300-350 square feet. Average cost=$30,000.
Small 300 sf apartment near UWT built at $100/sf=$30,000.
Anybody with deep enough pockets to build a parking garage with some housing attached? I don’t think this would even fly in car-centric Bellevue.
It’s the new era housing mania at work again. 5 years ago who would have expected college students to buy their housing? This is mental.
5 | Posted by Erik | Jul 24, 09:09 PM
These small condos are already being built in Seattle’s Belltown
8 | Posted by patty | Jul 25, 07:08 AM
There was a recent article in the Puget Sound Business Journal about Tonsing Properties’ plan for 325 sf condos in Bellevue. Appartently there are a lot of similarly sized units in Vancouver, BC. Also, you may have read that some condos in the new Four Seasons property in Seattle are going for nearly $2K/sf so I can see a market for smaller units.
9 | Posted by A.J. | Jul 25, 07:09 AM
“Yet, it’s LA. I don’t usually think of LA when I look for an example of our urban future…”
I’m not sure what to make of this statement. Everyone is always talking about making Tacoma more dense. Well, despite its reputation for sprawl, the City of Los Angeles actually has a density of nearly 8,000 people per square mile. That’s much more than Seattle and double that of lowly Tacoma.
Our condo was so small when we was growin’ up that above our front door was a nameplate that said Fido.
12 | Posted by Mofo from the Hood | Jul 25, 01:49 PM
Our condo was so small the dog had to wag its tail up and down.
14 | Posted by Droid116 | Jul 25, 08:44 PM
My apartment in Proctor was so small I had to walk outside to change my mind…
16 | Posted by Tim Farrell | Jul 25, 09:38 PM
Our condo was so… nope. I am a UWT Urban Studies student and can remember myself lamenting quite frequently the lack of small affordable properties close to campus. Instead, the U got us Court 17 with studios that rent for $900.
Yes, the parking requirement needs to be abolished. Honestly, I don’t think they will be. I don’t think the people driving Tacoma’s Growth Machine are targeting the next Vancouver/Portland, and I don’t think they want affordable housing located in a vibrant urban core. Instead, they probably have some connection to a huge profit to be made from an oversaturated highend market and a looming collapse with accompanying foreclosures.
17 | Posted by James M | Jul 25, 09:49 PM
Is there a profit to be made “from an oversaturated highend market and a looming collapse with accompanying foreclosures”...
sounds like lose, lose all around…
sounds like Florida where people are losing their asses big time in the overinflated condo market where they originally thought they would make a quick buck flipping property
18 | Posted by Laura H. | Jul 25, 10:34 PM
“sounds like lose, lose all around…”
Someone’s always making a profit, it’s just sometimes hard to tell who. Manipulators make money before an inflated market collapses, and they pick up cheap property afterwards.
And there are the industries that benefit from growth, regardless of what happens afterwards. Construction comes to mind….
19 | Posted by James M | Jul 27, 10:59 AM
Personally, I hope these aren’t put in near UWT with the intent of students living there. Just because we are students doesn’t mean we’re going to live in anything, especially when there are other options. People have tried to get students to live near or on campus (see Court 17, a university blessed project) but don’t realize what students want. In order to afford Court 17 there are 6 students living in a 2 bedroom apartment. That is just wrong! Many, many students choose to live in Stadium or outside of Tacoma because the rent is cheaper. Building 400 sq. ft. apartments with affordable rent is not going to lure them from their larger apartments nearby. Most of the students are not fresh out of high school and are not willing to live in such conditions. I wish housing could be built that is affordable and respects the needs of the students.
20 | Posted by urban explorer | Jul 27, 02:46 PM
Commenting is closed for this article.
