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Discussing Falmouth's Model for Affordable Housing
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" We're just a mile or two from the center of downtown Falmouth second biggest town on cape Scott and yet there's plenty of undisturbed land generally you've managed to assemble a package here for development. Is it easy to still find untouched land. And -- is a was a few years ago but there are still some parcels that are available now was it somebody's summer camp kind of thing -- what. On the parcel. I had two parcels here though one weren't doing the affordable housing on was a fellow that passed away. And he had a small ranch outside and then his. Land out behind and some of the land was actually strawberry farms and stuff right that's correct OK now the town requires that you have a one acre minimum lot size. To put up -- house. And that obviously creates a serious problem for a lot of young people who are trying to buy land -- my house is a big parcel like that is expensive right. Well one acre parcels today if you're gonna build a home. In the town of Falmouth they start at around 300000 all of -- for a lot just for the lot so if you buy a lot for 300000. And you go to -- homeowner it's not exactly affordable -- you're up over 500000 dollars sure. So that's the story all up and down Cape Cod but also on almost any desirable coastal or resort destination where people have trouble finding housing. There are lots of governmental regulations and approaches to try to bring the price down and change things here we're talking over -- forty B right. That's correct. The standard subdivision. State of Massachusetts is 48. And that would meet all the guidelines of the local community lot size. Dimensions for the frontage on the road right and when you -- forty B development which is for affordable housing first time homebuyers. You can ask for relief. From the board of appeals unit on all the local zoning laws and may not get all of that relief -- you can ask for so what size lots are we talking about here these are 10000 square foot lots about a quarter to 40000 correct. And so in the package that you've assembled there will be atop a total of how many houses it. And how many of them are designated affordable houses and how many of them are market rate 45%. So. Has to be affordable which is two of the eight homes. OK so this is one of one of the affordable once that's correct sir you're allowed to build on a quarter acre -- still feel like there's a lot of wild land around you here now. The nearest house is. Fair ways away what do -- is there another parcel in between yes there as -- a lot OK so you will have another house and what are the setbacks from lot line to lot line. On the sidelines you have to be ten feet or about seventeen feet from its side. We're about forty feet from the street itself and then 45 to fifty feet of backyard OK now. In terms of affordable and what the prices are you've got two out of the eight that are affordable. What's. The range of prices was this -- after the the houses -- about being sold -- first time homebuyers who are 11990. Basically 10020 out well. -- and the market rate houses 375 to 400 felt wow that's great but there is a big gap there how do you factor that in as the as a developer. Well I think the loss that I'm gonna have on the two affordable homes and add those -- the costs of the overall development. And then I can price out what the market rate homes will sell for in his or some sort of regulation or audit that takes place by the government the state the call Waltham Massachusetts assigns an auditor to each forty B development unit and we're limited to a 20%. Profit margin. So there are limitations to your prophet I correct OK. Now in terms of the appearance of these houses. This is nice this is vacate these are white cedar shingles that this doesn't look any different and it doesn't look like there any kind of inexpensive materials in use. While an -- Forty B development. Part of the guideline is that the market rate homes and the affordable homes are very similar in design and look. Yeah well the white cedar shingled exterior is pretty ubiquitous on Cape Cod but it's expensive it's it's hand labor right. It is very labor intensive OK and you've got other features on the house that I mean the shingles are nice the roof shingles. Obviously architectural design shingles. I kind of of warranty. This thirty year but they've just extended it to fifty years OK and you've got skylights up there and you've got what look to be pretty good windows. We have this a skylight in each bedroom on the second floor -- it is -- nice natural light and air. They open up. And we use the high density. Vinyl windows others in the maintenance than it. They can fill that in Washington inside yet there's no painting to be done. No painting full screens and in terms of the of the house itself what's the footprint of the house how many square feet the the house when it's finished inside is about 1800 square feet. Plus you get a garage plus the garage one car garage."