Vertically Integrated Modular Housing Project Opens in Auburn, Washington

Blokable at Phoenix Rising, a vertically integrated 12-unit affordable modular housing development in Auburn, Washington, opened in 2020. Modular homes are mass-produced, prefabricated residential structures that can be combined with other modules or permanent fixtures onsite to form single- or multifamily dwellings. Blokable, a Seattle-based manufacturer of modular homes, developed Phoenix Rising as its prototype multifamily building. Adopting a modular construction process generated considerable time, cost, and energy savings.

Creating a Prototype Modular Community

Unlike most modular manufacturers, who sell their products to developers, Blokable uses a vertical integration process that allows the company to control the entire development process, including site selection, assembly, and financing. After developing single-module accessory dwelling units (ADUs), the firm was ready to build a small multiunit development as the next step in the product development process. "This generation of prototype was basically the step between building ADUs and then building full five-story engineering," explained Aaron Holm, who along with co-CEO Nelson del Rio led the development of Blokable's fully integrated process.

Blokable drove the entire development process for Blokable at Phoenix Rising, handling the permitting, inspections, financing, assembly, logistics, and transportation. After working with the King County Assessor's Office to find available space, Blokable contracted with Valley Cities Behavioral Health Care to build a prototype multifamily residence. Valley Cities owns both the resulting apartments and the quarter-acre building site. Blokable initially intended to apply for funding from a state program supporting innovative development methods. However, because Blokable was a design-build developer, it could not respond to the state's request for proposals because only teams consisting of architects, developers, and general contractors were eligible to respond. To receive state funding, a state legislator had to add an earmark to Valley Cities in the state capital budget to fund this project. This unconventional production strategy created other complexities, such as determining the applicable rules and regulations as well as the builders' wages, because manufacturing and architecture are separate industries with very different pay scales. After a few years of financial and administrative delays, Blokable at Phoenix Rising opened in December 2020 at a cost of $1.5 million.

Twelve Prefabricated Apartments

Blokable assembled the all-steel modules in its manufacturing plant in Vancouver, Washington. Complete with floors, windows, and appliances, the modules were transported nearly 150 miles by truck to the site, where they were assembled into two buildings: one with five units and one with seven units. Only the roofing was constructed on site.

The modules, which have a useful life of 50 to 100 years, are all electric and net-zero ready. Their tight building envelope minimizes the energy expended for heating and cooling. Residents of Phoenix Rising pay about 60 percent less for air conditioning and heating their units and 30 percent less for utilities than do residents of standard new units. The units have an energy-recovery ventilation system that filters outdoor air and exhausts stale air outside. This system helps limit exposure to bacteria, mold, and other unhealthy air particles. The tight building envelope also minimizes outdoor sounds.

Five of the apartments are 280-square-foot studios and seven are one-bedroom apartments that are 340 square feet. The units include kitchens and living areas and have dimmable cove lighting. All the apartments are reserved for residents who earn between 30 and 50 percent of the area median income. Blokable at Phoenix Rising is near amenities, services, and job opportunities in Auburn and the greater Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. The development is also a few miles from a commuter rail station that offers direct links to downtown Seattle, downtown Tacoma, and other suburbs.

A Cost-Effective Strategy

At approximately $125,000 per unit, the project cost significantly less than a typical site-built residential development in King County would. One reason for the lower cost was the project's shortened development timeframe. Unlike traditional onsite construction, modular production is a standardized and repeatable process. In addition, factory production requires significantly less architecture and engineering services than does standard construction. The streamlined development process and reduced need for specialized services significantly lowered labor costs. The project's tight building envelope also reduced the amount of material waste, because the materials do not need to be sent to the site before being cut to fit.

Holm explained how Blokable will produce future modular developments more quickly and efficiently. "We took a lot longer building Phoenix Rising than we [will] on subsequent projects because we took a lot of time to specifically document the process so that we could make it more repeatable and drive costs down. This is a model that substantially reduces the per-door cost basis to bring new housing to the market." Blokable now has a standardized manufacturing, assembly, and attachment process, and many of the structural components are preengineered. In addition, developing a standardized, preapproved product simplifies the approval process because the structure already meets local regulatory requirements.

Although modular development is nearly always less expensive than site-built construction, Holm believes that the vertical integration model is by far the most cost-effective construction method. Currently, most manufacturers sell modules to developers when the "product" is at its lowest possible value, which adds a middleman and limits incentives for modular production. When the manufacturer also acts as the developer, however, these producers can increase profits while also reducing costs for residents. "The incentive for factory production in the real estate context is for vertical integration and [for] the developer to realize the upside in the form of appreciating real estate equity, not to sell it as a productized asset," Holm said. He explained that this model can yield 30 times the profit over a 10-year period compared with modular "products" that are sold as a construction "input" to the development process.

Prospects

Blokable is preparing to mass-produce multifamily apartments in several states. Blokable's product is designed to meet many of the strongest state codes in the country. The structures can be up to four stories tall in areas that experience heavy snow and up to five stories tall in earthquake-prone areas such as California, which has the strictest seismic requirements in the nation. These buildings are also designed to withstand winds of up to 160 miles per hour.

Modular homes are becoming increasingly popular in the United States because of their financial, environmental, and time-saving benefits. Although regulatory and financial barriers to modular and other prefabricated housing persist, some state and local governments have been easing restrictions. For example, shortly after Blokable at Phoenix Rising opened, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries began allowing third-party engineers and architects to review modular development plans, simplifying the administrative approval process. Holm remains optimistic that modular development using a vertically integrated process will become increasingly common. However, financial and regulatory restructuring will be necessary for factory production to replace traditional construction in the residential market.

Interview with Aaron Holm, 10 October 2023.

Interview with Aaron Holm, 10 October 2023; email correspondence with Aaron Holm, 20 November 2023.

Interview with Aaron Holm, 10 October 2023.

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Vertically Integrated Modular Housing Project Opens in Auburn, Washington | HUD USER - HUD User

(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)

There's a new house on the east side of Lansing that city officials hope will lead the way for attainable housing in the area.

"It's a way to see if this is one of the many solutions that's needed for the housing crisis," Alan Fox Ingham County Treasurer.

On what used to be two vacant lots on the east side of Lansing now sits Ingham county's first-ever modular home thanks to the Ingham County Landbank

"This is a house that will fit into the neighborhood beautifully. It's about the same size as other houses. It's two story's and the particular design was picked because it will not stand out in this neighborhood," Fox said.

Allen Fox is the Ingham County Treasurer and the chair of the Ingham County Housing Trust Fund.

He says this new home is a part of an experiment to help the housing shortage in the area.

"We wanted to see if they were usable. And affordable to get moderate-income housing into the city. And the state of Michigan had some funds available to try it out," Fox said.

Fox says the house will be sold to a new homeowner at a rate of cost that is subsidized by public money in order to make it affordable.

"So it contributes to increase in home ownership. And it it contributes to having just one more housing unit in the community. That relieves the housing shortage," Fox said.

Dejuan Lewis and his wife Jennifer have lived in the area for years and says they are happy to see changes in their neighborhood.

"Previously, there used to be two houses there and then over the years, they demolish them and there was a garden in there at one point in time that community garden and then now seeing a big house come in it's nice," Jennifer said.

"I will say it's not much to look at over here but you know, the people are real nice. The kids are nice, they come on and they play over here in the backyard with our trampoline. It's nice to add to the community. So I'm all for it," Dejuan said.

Fox says the energy-efficient house is expected to be ready for occupancy by spring of 2024 and this won't be the last that we see of these homes.

"There's going to be another one going up elsewhere in the city later this year," Fox said.

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First ever modular home in Ingham County placed on the eastside of Lansing - FOX 47 News Lansing - Jackson

In 1969, the federal government announced that it would hand out millions of dollars in subsidies to companies willing to try something new: build houses in factories.

Then as now, America was in the throes of a housing crisis. There werent enough places to live. Mass production provided Americans with abundant and cheap food, clothing, cars and other staples of material life. But houses were still hammered together by hand, on site. The federal initiative, Operation Breakthrough, aimed to drive up the production of housing and to drive down the cost by dragging the building industry into the 20th century.

It didnt work. Big companies, including Alcoa and General Electric, designed new kinds of houses, and roughly 25,000 rolled out of factories over the following decade. But none of the new home builders long survived the end of federal subsidies in the mid-1970s.

Last year, only 2 percent of new single-family homes in the United States were built in factories. Two decades into the 21st century, nearly all U.S. homes are still built the old-fashioned way: one at a time, by hand. Completing a house took an average of 8.3 months in 2022, a month longer than it took to build a house of the same size back in 1971.

Federal housing policy in the decades since the failure of Operation Breakthrough has focused myopically on providing financial aid to renters and homeowners. The government needs to return its attention to the supply side. Opening land for development, for example by easing zoning restrictions, is part of the answer, but reducing building costs could be even more constructive. Land accounts for roughly 20 percent of the price of a new house; building costs account for 60 percent. (The price of land is a larger factor in coastal cities like New York, but a vast majority of new housing in the United States is built on cheap land outside cities.)

The tantalizing potential of factory-built housing, also known as modular housing, continues to attract investors and entrepreneurs, including a start-up called Fading West that opened a factory in 2021 in the Colorado mountain town of Buena Vista. But Fading West, and similar start-ups in other parts of the country, need government help to drive a significant shift from handmade housing to factories. This time, there is reason to think it could work.

On a windy morning last month, I watched as wooden platforms the size of train cars moved down the Fading West assembly line, advancing to a new station every few hours as workers added walls and windows, wiring and insulation, dishwashers and cabinets. The finished boxes are trucked to building sites and swung into place by cranes. Houses consist of two to four boxes. Once theyre knitted together, the result looks like a traditional home.

Charlie Chupp, the chief executive, previously ran a company that built and shipped all the pieces of new stores for Starbucks, Einstein Bros. Bagels and other restaurant chains. Fading West is seeking to apply a similar model to building homes and apartments. We see ourselves as being in manufacturing, not construction, says Eric Schaefer, a former pastor who is now the companys chief evangelist, bending the ear of politicians, reporters and developers about the potential benefits of mass production and the changes necessary to support it.

Final assembly happens so quickly that it almost seems like a magic trick. In Poncha Springs, a town 30 minutes south of Buena Vista, I watched as a crane swung a 19,894-pound box over a concrete foundation. A worker on each corner checked the fit while two more waited in the basement to connect it to the foundation. As it was secured, a truck arrived with the next box.

The team of eight workers has sometimes assembled four houses in a single day.

Joanna Schwartz, the chief executive of Quartz Properties, which is using Fading Wests boxes to build the homes, said buyers sometimes come to see the show. They didnt have a house in the morning and then in the afternoon they can walk through it, she said.

Fading West says houses from its factory can be completed in as little as half the time and at as little as 80 percent of the cost of equivalent handmade homes, in part because the site can be prepared while the structure is built in the factory. A 2017 analysis by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley, found similar savings for the construction of three- to five-story apartment buildings using modular components.

Factory building has other advantages, too. It can reduce waste, maintain higher standards of consistency and produce homes that are more energy efficient. It is not subject to rain delays.

It also offers a solution to the home-building industrys growing problems finding enough qualified workers, especially in high-cost areas. Manufacturers like Fading West can build where labor is cheaper and then ship homes to the places where people want to live.

But there are good reasons modular housing has remained the next big thing for a long time.

One basic problem is that houses are large objects, and unlike cars or airplanes, they are not designed to move. The result is that the savings from factory production are partly offset by the cost of transportation. (Some companies reduce transportation costs by shipping homes in smaller pieces, an approach pioneered by Sears and other retailers of build your own home kits in the early 20th century, but that just shifts the cost from transportation to assembly.)

The volatility of the housing market is also a problem. Traditional home builders rely on contract workers who are easily dismissed during downturns. Factory builders, which have high fixed costs, tend to go bankrupt. Housing downturns have ended a long line of ambitious and well-funded efforts to create the Model T of the housing industry. In 2006, on the cusp of the most recent housing crash, factory builders produced more than 70,000 homes. Since the crisis and the resulting wipeout, annual production has not exceeded 30,000 houses.

Neither volatility nor transportation costs might matter if factory home builders could match the efficiency gains found in other kinds of mass production. Brian Potter, a senior infrastructure fellow at the Institute for Progress, a nonpartisan think tank focused on technological innovation, gives the example of the Ford Taurus. Experimental models of the 1996 Taurus were built by hand, which cost almost half a million dollars per car. The car eventually retailed for less than $20,000.

Factory home builders have struggled to streamline construction. Mr. Potter spent several years looking for ways to make housing construction more efficient, an effort he narrated on a fascinating blog, before concluding that significant progress wasnt likely. Almost any idea that you can think of for a way to build a single-family home cheaper has basically been tried, and there was probably a company that went bankrupt trying to do it, Mr. Potter told me.

I think the history of the auto industry provides reason for more optimism. One lesson is that progress requires production at scale. There are a handful of car companies that each make millions of cars, and hundreds of home builders building a few hundred homes a year. Fading West, which aims to produce as many as 1,000 homes a year, says that isnt enough to justify investments in automation.

Efficiency gains also come from doing the same thing over and over again, but the idiosyncrasies of local building codes make that impossible. In Colorado alone, by Mr. Schaefers count, there are more than 300 distinct building codes, requiring adjustments for each new batch of homes. Fading West found that it had to use different roof designs for homes headed to the city of Fairplay and to a development just outside the city, because the county has stricter snow load regulations.

A sequel to Operation Breakthrough could help the industry overcome those challenges. The Canadian governments Rapid Housing Initiative is providing support for large-scale modular manufacturing by setting tight construction deadlines for affordable housing projects that obtain government funding, an approach the United States could emulate on an even larger scale.

The government also can push for the standardization of building materials and building regulations. Herbert Hoover, the great champion of industrial standardization, who during his years as commerce secretary in the 1920s worked successfully to establish uniform rules for products such as paving bricks, milk bottles and blackboards, argued that establishing consistent standards was the nearest thing to a free lunch. It would increase productivity, benefiting companies, workers and customers. Florida and California will always have somewhat different building codes, because hurricanes and earthquakes pose different challenges. But there is no reason for Colorado to have 300 different codes.

If it seems far-fetched that the government could revolutionize the home-building business, take a look at what sits on top of a growing number of American homes. The government has driven the spread and driven down the cost of solar panels through decades of investment and subsidies.

Its time to pay similar attention to the buildings underneath.

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Opinion | Why Do We Build Houses in the Same Way That We Did 125 Years Ago? - The New York Times

Thinking about buying a new modular home in South Carolina? The Palmetto State borders North Carolina and Georgia in the heart of the south, and is home to a bit of 4.7 million people. Home of Myrtle Beach, the iconic golf beach and golfing hotspot, South Carolina has unrivaled culture and historical significance dating back to the civil war. These days the average sales price of a home in South Carolina is approximately $225,000. The average price of a modular home in South Carolina is $50 to $70 per square foot, which means that the average price for a modular home in South Carolina is $108,000 its no wonder why South Carolina modular homes are growing in demand every day. Modular home builders such as Sunshine Homes and Deer Valley Homebuilders, engineer modular homes specifically for the unique characteristics of the environment, with a focus on energy efficiency and minimal long-term maintenance. Make South Carolina your home today.

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Beautiful, sustainable, modular architecture built and delivered in just 12 weeks.

Our in-house design team of architects, draftspeople and interior designers will create your new home specifically for your site, matching needs, budget and sustainable values. Design and finish options are limitless but what is certain is that every design is the result of our design teams genuine collaboration with you.

With over 14 years experience, Modscape has delivered over 500 projects for our happy clients including family homes, forever homes and holiday homes in all kinds of locations.

Building at our innovative modular construction hub inBrooklyn means we never have to worry about the weather and our tradesmen can work side-by-side to get the job done faster. Weve optimised every step in our construction process to the point where we can guarantee that your new modular home will be constructed in just 12 weeks from the time weve received your building permit. We can also guarantee you afixed upfront price, providing you with peace of mind knowing that there wont be any cost overruns.

To enquire about building your home with Modscape, contact us today.

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Modscape Modular Homes - Innovative Prefab Homes Australia | Modscape ...

CHICAGO (PRWEB) August 19, 2022

As communities face wildfire smoke, power outages, and extreme heat this summer, US infrastructure is not equipped to protect us. Federal tax credits soon to come from the newly passed Inflation Reduction Bill aim to reduce the cost of environmentally-friendly changes and set the stage for widespread adoption and Phius-certified passive homes are emerging as a model for how to adapt. Phius (Passive House Institute US), a non-profit and locally tailored, globally applicable passive house building standard accounting for the vast majority of all passive projects in North America, has certified more than 7.4 million square feet of passive building projects that are optimized for adaptability and resilience as climate change redefines living standards.

For example, as residents in Houston struggle with rising temperatures and potential for loss of electricity, the Fly Flat infill pocket neighborhood, designed with ever-unpredictable and more extreme weather in mind, integrated Phius passive house standards to be ready. The housing project, led by a student-driven design team, utilized modular home designs and implemented energy-outage prevention tools such as community solar and FEMA 499 strategies to design weather-resilient homes the community can thrive in for years to come. New federal tax credits will reduce the cost of solar panels and other necessary tools for preparing the homes for resilience putting more funding back to the neighborhood.

Theresa Passive House is another Phius-certified project that weathered last years snowstorm and this years summer heat in Houston, Texas with comparable ease, enjoying a key benefit of passive buildings -- the ability for the home to maintain internal temperatures for longer periods of time, even without heating and cooling. Located next to a busy highway and train line, filtered, clean air inside was a priority. Today, the ERV circulates fresh, filtered air and a dehumidifier minimizes excessive moisture.

In California, Sol Lux Alpha, developed by John Sarter, is the first Phius-certified passive house with a multi-unit nanogrid structure introduced in the U.S. housing market. This six-story, four-unit housing development offers carbon-neutral living plus a transportation system! Inhabited units generate twice as much energy as they consume. Excess energy is sent to the grid, where it can be reused for EV charging another increasingly important perk of building to Phius standards as the electric car market heats up and tax credits emerge, especially in a state where the grid is already struggling to keep up with demand during peak summer hours.

And, when wildfire smoke fills the air, one family in Seattle, Washington will breathe easy in their Phius-certified passive home, named Park Passive. The home uses an advanced HVAC system to provide the home with continuous filtered fresh air even when the air outside is thick with smoke from nearby fires. At the first sign of smoke, the family closes all windows and doors and lets the house take over from there.

These homes all share mitigation of climate change and adaptability as a result of climate change designing and building for resilience, habitability and passive survivability during power outages, fires, and other climate-driven events, said Katrin Klingenberg, executive director of Phius. In certain regions, this provides a way forward for building and home design that offers an even more important outcome: reducing electricity load for heating and cooling - critical during heat waves.

Images of the projects are available HERE. Visit http://www.Phius.org for more information.

About PhiusPhius is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to decarbonizing the built environment by making high-performance passive building the mainstream market standard. We train and certify professionals, maintain and update the Phius climate-specific passive building standard, certify and quality assure passive buildings, certify high-performance building products and conduct research to advance high-performance building. ###

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New Climate Bill to Accelerate Phius-Certified Passive Home Adoption Driven by Need for Extreme Weather Resilience - PR Web

Architecture is no longer a discipline that deems only the physical as 'sacred'. The digital is fast taking over the discourse and opening avenues to new ways of thinking and experimentation, and with much acceleration by the COVID-19 pandemic, a new world has already propped above the horizon. London-headquartered Zaha Hadid Architects needs no introduction when it comes to their pioneering engagement with the built and the speculative realms. The brainchild of late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Mohammad Hadid, the practice, since the 80s, has stood out for delivering timeless architecture that fuses technology with design, and for perennially pushing the envelope to create new tools to enhance our spatial experiences.

The firm is presenting its adventures in the cyberphysical space and metaverse through an exhibition hosted at the Dongdaemun Design Museum in Seoul, Korea. Meta-Horizons: The Future Now marks the opening of the new museum which is located within the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a cultural hub and meeting place in Seouls Dongdaemun district completed by ZHA in 2014. The exhibition offers a peek into ZHAs illustrious repertoire spanning across multiple fields, from digital technology to artificial intelligence and virtual reality. One gets to experience the sheer breadth of work through three main zones of the showcase - Innovation, Imagination, and Interaction - where these categories reveal the firms recent designs, process, and research that incorporates immersive technologies, participatory design, and new fabrication techniques.

Within the first section titled Innovation: Process & Research, the exhibition focuses on collaborations across disciplines which rely on a research-based approach towards the design process and physical prototyping. The presented projects include a platform used to create customised modular homes, and a recent 3D-printed concrete bridge named Striatus, which was assembled without mortar in Venice as a result of a collaboration between ZHA and ETH Zurich. The various projects that fall under this zone represent the three ongoing research strands of the architectural practice, namely robotic technologies, folded geometries, and digital timber construction.

Within Imagination: Design & Virtual, the exhibition delves into the digital realm of things and how it continues to become more established as an activated destination integrating with the physical world. Presented within this section is ZHAs increased presence in the designing of the metaverse, with projects such as the cyber urban incubator 'Liberland', and 'NFTism' a virtual gallery space experimenting with architecture and social interaction.

The third section titled Interaction: Technologies & Collaboration puts a spotlight on technologies that enhance the seamless user experience across the world of cyber-physics, mixed reality, augmented and virtual reality. Projects presented within this section include Project Correl 1.0 a collaborative experiment in multi-presence virtual reality that illustrates the development of complex assemblies inside virtual space; and New Worlds a LOOP mixed-reality experience created by ZHVR. It is revealed as an immersive soundscape by artist Halina Rice which visitors could experience using HTC headsets.

A highlight of the overall exhibition is an immersive art project conceived by ZHA in collaboration with Refik Anadol Studio (RAS). The result of a six month-long collaboration, the artwork titled Architecting the Metaverse "extends RAS Media Labs ongoing research project and visualises their entire database of architectural documentation in the oeuvre of ZHA". Expressed as an immersive room, visitors are exposed to an infinitely reflecting mirrored tunnel that creates a perception shift by merging the boundlessness of space with the endless permutations of machine learning. Speculating on the future of architecture in the digital realm, the installation was specially conceived for the exhibition and it marks the first collaboration of media artist Refik Anadol with a pioneering architectural studio. Architecting the Metaverse is also stated to be the first of its kind in realising the machine dream of ZHAs architectural works around the world.

Meta-Horizons: The Future Now is on view at the DDP Design Museum in Seoul till September 18, 2022.

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ZHA's showcase in Seoul presents new directions of the metaverse - STIRworld

MALMESBURY: Permission is wanted in principle for the development of a self-built home on undeveloped land adjacent to the property known as Marden House, onThompsons Hill, Sherston, Malmesbury.

The proposed development will seek to provide a new access off Thompsons Hill and will provide onsite parking to meet the needs of the future residents.

The planning documents say theplanning statement demonstrates that the development is "broadly in accordance with the Development Plan as a whole".

It adds: "The Council cannot currently demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, andthe application site can be developed without harming the character andappearance of the area.

"Only limited weight should be attributed to the conflict with the housing policies of the development plan, taking account of the housing shortfall, and if any harm is identified by the technical conflict with the settlement policies this would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits when assessed against the policies in the Framework taken as a whole. The tilted balance clearly therefore indicates that the application should be approved."

MELKSHAM: An application has been submitted for the proposed conversion of an existing barn near Melksham to form a holiday let.

Little Thornham Farm is a private dwelling on Trowbridge Road, Seend.

The barns that form this application are made up of three linked structures, two of which are two storey and a third smaller single storey lean-to on the northern end.

The application says: "The property is no longer suitable for modern farming methods and has suffered some deterioration due to lack of use. There are signs of cracking, and the original chimney has been lost. The applicants and their family occupy the main farmhouse adjacent to the barns, and work on the surrounding farm. A family member occupies an adjacent annexe in an unlisted, converted barn."

It adds: "Simeon and Amy Plumb, the applicants, have lived in the property for many years, alongside extended family and are now raising the next generation at Little Thornham Farm. Evidently it has been, and is intended to be, a long-term home for the Plumb family. There is inevitably maintenance and repair matters to attend to, particularly with the older buildings which are no longer in regular use. Therefore this presents an opportunity to diversify this element of the farm to find a new use for these buildings to ensure that they remain viable and in use for future generations to enjoy."

NETTLETON: There are plans to convertNettleton Baptist Church into holiday accommodation.

The applicants saythe conversion or re-use of a heritage asset, in this case the church, would lead to its "viable long-term safeguarding".

The site is located in the open countryside where residential development is strictly controlled.

WARMINSTER:Plans have been submittedfor a new neighbourhood of "innovative modular homes" at Bore Hill Farm near Warminster.

The revised plans have been tabled byLegal & General Modular Homes, part of the UK financial services group.

It follows the withdrawal of a previous 2021 planning application for 95 new homes on thesite, to enable further work to be carried on the layout of the development.

The revised plan features 84 homes and the provision of more green open space including a play area, and measures to promote biodiversity, such as wildflower meadow and fruit trees.

EXTENSIONS: Applications have been lodged to build extensions to houses, or to build or convert outbuildings and lofts atFlorida House, Hardenhuish Lane, Chippenham;45 Stockwood Road, Chippenham; Silverdale, Cleverton, Chippenham;6 South Street, Corsham;48 Park Lane, Chippenham;33 Bremhill, Calne;31 Golden Road, Devizes;Bourne House, The Old Severalls, Milton Lilbourne, Pewsey;67 Hawkstreet, Bromham, Chippenham;Beech Cottage, Golding Avenue, Marlborough.

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Wiltshire planning applications: Plans to convert an old church | The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald - Gazette & Herald

LAS VEGAS (KTNV)On any given night, over 5,000 people are living on the streets in Southern Nevada.

More than 10,000 will experience homelessness at some point each year.

13 Investigates continues with more on how a solution that's helped thousands of people in dozens of other cities has been rejected here in our valley.

PART ONE: Officials in Nevada demolish tiny homes built for homeless in Las Vegas

"I can put my belongings down. I'm safe," says Angela who's been homeless for several years. "I don't have to be around pimps. I don't have to be with dope pushers."

A roof over your head, a door you can lock, and a sense of safety is what advocates say is fundamental to breaking out of homelessness.

"Well, being homeless is a struggle," says Angela.

Many exist in constant survival mode.

"Homelessness itself is a full time job," says Erik de Buhr, co-founder of Community Supported Shelters in Eugene, Oregon.

"You have to think about where you're going to eat that day," de Buhr explains. "How are you going to clean your clothes? How are you going to move around your stuff? How are you going to protect your stuff? Where are you going to sleep? How are you going to rest?"

"And it's tough, you know, because you're treated like nothing in the streets," says Angela.

The idea of providing tiny shelters to the homeless isn't new. They've been doing it in Eugene, Oregon for nearly a decade.

"By providing for people a place--to have a locking, safe place where they can have some stuff and sleep," says de Buhr. "That eliminates a lot of the work of being homeless and people can start to get their head on straight and thinking about, 'Okay, What next steps can I take to improve my situation?'"

Eugene's first tiny home community was established in 2013.

And now from coast to coast, dozens of cities are embracing a variety of tiny home solutions.

There are numerous sites in the Los Angleles area. Denver has them too.

They're in Kansas City, Detroit and Nashville. Tampa, Florida and Syracuse, New York.

Pallet Shelter, one of several companies producing small modular homes, tells 13 Investigates they provided structures to 76 sites in over 40 cities.

There's even one in Reno but here in Clark County, on April 12th, the city of North Las Vegas bulldozed a group of tiny homes built on private property owned by Joseph Lankowski and his group, New Leaf. It's where Angela, Savage and Allen were beginning to rebuild their lives.

"It was a blessing. It was a blessing," says Angela.Darcy Spears: "What did it mean to you to have this opportunity? What did it represent for you looking forward in your life?"

Angela: "For one, achievement. Being human. And loved."

The destruction cost them the key things they need to get out of homelessness.

"Social Security card, birth certificate. It took me forever to get these things," says Savage.

There was no complaint filed by nearby residents or businesses. Code enforcement took action after a city employee saw a fence made from recycled pallets and reported it.

North Las Vegas code enforcement officials got a warrant that gave them the go-ahead to, "remove, demolish and dispose of all non-permitted or deteriorated structures" according to a warrant signed by a judge.

North Las Vegas declined multiple requests for an on-camera interview, providing a statement instead

"We had first aid kits. We had water," Angela says. "They were going to install showers."

Lankowski says he tried to find the process for zoning and permits.

"And we ran into a dead end because there is no zoning," Lankowski says. "There is no zoning for what we're trying to do."

With donated materials, he and his group of volunteers decided to build first, ask forgiveness later.

"The need is just too great out here," says Lankowksi.

He was hit with several code violations in April of this year, saying his group was fixing some and appealing others. The group was expecting due process but getting demolition instead.

"I'm angry! I'm hurt! Mad. It's sad," says Angela. "The whole damn thing is just sad. You take us from something and put us back. It's just sad."

Having consulted with Community Supported Shelters in Eugene, Lankowski thought North Las Vegas would see he could make something similar work for the homeless here.

"Walls, roof, carpeting," says Allen. "Everything was right. It was right."

13 Investigates talked with the Mayor of Eugene, Lucy Vinis. She says tiny home sites there haven't blown up into shanty towns or became a major safety problem.

"The opposite has been the result because we've made a commitment as a city to invest in the facilities that we need in order to enable these to be safe places," says Mayor Vinis.

An investment mayor vinis says actually saves tax dollars.

"Just health cost alone, just visits to the emergency room alone," says Mayor Vinis. "When you consider the costs of public safety."

And there is cost for public works to clean up encampments.

"We have to make those investments now because the costs just keep building," Mayor Vinis explains. "It doesn't go away."

Mayor Vinis says it's also a huge relief for law enforcement.

"This is absolutely what our police department wants," says Mayor Vinis. "These sites, once they're established, they're clean, they're safe, they're well managed. There is no negative impact on the community at all."

It's important to note, officials here tell us the city's homeless outreach team has connected with Angela, Savage and Allen.

"All they give you is bullsh*t. Excuse my language," says Angela.

Angela is beyond frustrated with the seemingly endless wait for real help and approval for housing.

"We're going to put you on this list and we're going to go and check on you. But it's always pending," Angela explains. "They give you a granola bar and a bottle of water and just, 'Have a nice day,' you know."

Advocates say that points to the overall problem of how homelessness is approached in the valley.

Darcy Spears: "They need a leg up to be more productive citizens. And it sounds like the city cut that leg off at the knee."

Lankowski: "Absolutely. You know, they need a....not a handout, but a hand up. And that's what we're trying to do is help lift them up. And what the local government's approach is, unfortunately, is kicking people while they're down, you know, by criminalizing homelessness, making it illegal to be homeless."

No one expects tiny homes to be the solution for everyone who is homeless. It's just one piece in a mosaic.

"It's not just a hope and a prayer," says Mayor Vinis. "It is confidence in human beings, that if you give them an opportunity and you support them, they can begin to build a better life for themselves."

A message the folks who briefly lived here hope our city will take to heart.

"We had so many dreams and opportunities and plans," says Angela. "And they just took it like, you know, we are trash. And that's how I feel they they they're treating us... like we're trash and we don't deserve to have a place to live."

For more information about New Leaf and their efforts to address the homeless crisis, click here.

In addition to North Las Vegas, we reached out to the City of Las Vegas and NDOT. Both were involved with destruction of shelters near I-15.

NDOT provided the following statement:

The decision to pursue this abatement was intended to ensure the safety and welfare of both the homeless and surrounding community due to significant biohazard concerns, including bodily waste, debris and intravenous drug paraphernalia accumulating inside drainage channels that feed into the Las Vegas Wash.

Other concerns included potential pedestrian-vehicle hazards from crossing the interstate, walking alongside the shoulder and/or encamping within the Union Pacific Railroad corridor, as well as obstructed driver sightlines.

We will continue to work with government and community partners to ensure that any necessary clean-up efforts are conducted responsibly.

City of Las Vegas provided this statement:

We also reached out to elected officials who say this is an opportunity to find a process to make this work in Clark County.

Read more:
Dozens of cities embrace tiny homes for the homeless; officials in Southern Nevada bulldoze them - KTNV 13 Action News Las Vegas

Jessica Anuroff'sgreentarp tent still stands on East Hastings Streeta week after the City of Vancouver ordered the cleanup of sidewalks along several city blocks of the Downtown Eastside.

But home feels different.She says most of her belongings were taken by city staff and she faces increasing uncertainty about where to go next.

"Where else do they want us to go?" said Anuroff."I'm just mainly tired and exhausted from everything."

In July, Vancouver's fire department ordered the immediate removal of tents and structures along East Hastings due to "numerous urgent safety concerns."

Last week, city staff began the process of removing tents and other structures, forcing dozens of people living in the area to move without other housingand shelter options.

Anuroff says she has little choice but to stay put, while othersin the homeless community say those who were displaced are returning because they havenowhere to go.

While the city saidthe cleanup was needed for the safety of residents, advocates say they disagree with its approach because it isbreaking apart the community anddriving people into isolation and more alternative housing optionsare needed.

Since the start of the tent removal,at least one or two people are showing up every day at the Bloom Group Community Services Society, which offers housing support for residents in the Downtown Eastside

But there is no space for them,executive director Elizabeth Barnett says.

"We are doing our best to support folks, but if the programs are full there's not really anywhere people can go," saidBarnett, adding that she feels disappointed and angry with how the city has dealt with the encampment.

"I've noticed more people in the alleys, in darker corners, people on their own, more than I've seen before," she said.

Advocates worrythe displacement means more people will use potentially toxic drugs alone.

"They have nowhere to go. So they're going to be in alleyways using alone and increasing exponentially the chance of death," said Vince Tao, a community organizer with theVancouver Area Network of Drug Users support group.

Tao said without sufficienthousing, "they're just going to move right back right to the same place the next day, or just down the block."

He said the only solution to the issue is more housing options.

According to the city's website, since 2019more than 550 social and supportive homes have opened in Vancouver which provideaffordable housing and connections to off-site services such ashealth care, mental health, or substance use services.

The city says its also working with B.C. Housing to createapproximately 350 new permanent supportive homes.

Permanent shelters and temporary modular homesalso exist to provide relief to hundreds of people living without a home, according to the website.

But there'snot enough space to help the people who have just been displaced from East Hastings, Barnett said.

"Right now, you sort of have three choices: you couch surf until you can't anymore;you live in subsidized housing if you can get in; or you live on the street. There's not enough choices there," she said.

The condition of some housing options like single-room occupancy hotels (SROs) and shelters makes it preferable for some to sleep on the streets, saysLorissa Thordarson, who lives rough in the East Hastings area.

"The buildings are disgusting.They're riddled with bugs, or rats I don't want to live in something like that," she said.

When CBC News asked the City of Vancouver where it expects displaced people to go, a spokesperson saidstaff are in daily conversations with B.C.Housing to advocate for housing and shelter needs.

"City staff have been encouraging and supporting voluntary removal of tents and belongings, and regularly sharing information in person with those sheltering outdoors," an email statement said.

It said the city's outreach team is also working with B.C. Housing to bring forward people to be considered for housing.

In a previous statement to CBC News, B.C. Housing said it does not have the spaces necessary to provide shelter for people who are being displaced in the Downtown Eastside.

"We have been clear with the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Fire Rescue Services that, on short notice, we do not have access to large numbers of new spaces in Vancouver to accommodate the timing of the emergency order," it said.

Barnettsays she'd like the city to embrace a wider range of housing alternatives such as a campground andmore harm reduction facilities, as well as subsidies for landlords to support people.

In the short term, she says she'd like to see police team up with mental health and social workers when officers are sent into the community.

And in the meantime, she emphasizes the need for compassion.

"You can't deprive people of this community they built with no other option. It's just illogical," she said.

The city did not specify if it plans to remove tents that have remained or reappeared on East Hastings.

Read more:
'Where else do they want us to go?' Downtown Eastside residents face uncertain future in wake of tent removals - CBC.ca