“I got the inspiration for the Tiny House Village when I saw a need for a solution to the high housing prices in Flagstaff,” Carpenter said.
The tiny house movement integrates sustainable strategies and quality craftsmanship with homeowners’ desires to downsize, simplify and live with less. “People are embracing the tiny life philosophy and the freedom that accompanies the tiny house lifestyle,” say the experts at The Tiny Life blog. As a result, tiny home communities are starting to pop up across the country in places like San Diego, California; Durango, Colorado; and Lakeside, Arizona.
“I got the inspiration for the Tiny House Village when I saw a need for a solution to the high housing prices in Flagstaff,” Carpenter said. According to the most recent Northern Arizona Association of Realtors report, the median home price in Flagstaff is $606,500. Tiny House Village at Fourth Street and Soliere Avenue offers an affordable alternative. The brand-new living community is the first of its kind in Flagstaff.
But, developing the property in the center of the city created some challenges. “For 20 years, the city has been expanding Fourth Street, so that is great that we were in the path of progress,” Carpenter said. But the improvements caused some hefty delays and changes to the initial layout of the tiny home community planned for the site, which was already zoned Manufactured Housing (MH) for this type of project.
“We had to wait two years for the road to be widened, the bridge to be built and the signals to be installed to access the new road. The location has perks and challenges, so we had to be patient with the city and ADOT [Arizona Department of Transportation]. But, we’re happy it is all done,” he said. “The city was great to work with on this project.”
Carpenter and his wife, Jennifer Carpenter, sales manager for Tiny House Village, are planning a ribbon cutting for Flagstaff’s newest community this month.
“We are proud to bring the Tiny House Village to the community of Flagstaff. This new living experience highlights the best aspects of what we love about Flagstaff – the sense of adventure, the strength of the community and an appreciation for our beautiful surroundings. We are especially proud to provide the community with sustainable and economical housing options,” said Jennifer.
The Tiny House Village on Fourth Street consists of 30 lots, with six of the lots available for rent. The remaining 24 lots will have tiny homes attached to the ground and owned by the residents.
Tiny House Village is a lease land development, meaning that residents buy and own their homes but lease the land they are on. The land lease includes services like water, sewer, trash, snow removal and property taxes. In addition, tiny house owners will access exclusive community amenities like a clubhouse, laundry facilities, showers, lawn games and an entertainer’s kitchen.
Six different floor plans are available, ranging from 600 square feet with one bedroom and one bathroom to 900 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Champion Homes in Chandler is building the tiny houses.
“This is an opportunity for people to downsize and still have a yard and their own space. They don’t have to give up outdoor space just because they’re going smaller. Our customers are excited to be off Fourth Street so they can walk, bike or have a short drive downtown,” said Jennifer. “They can downsize and still have community and homeownership.”
“We wanted to provide something that people could put their own touch on – such as a backyard garden – at the price of an apartment. I think we’ve achieved that,” said David.
Tiny House Village floor plans and lot sizes can be viewed at livesmall.net. FBN
By Stacey Wittig, FBN