Affordable Housing, Middle Income Housing, Communty Housing, Workforce Housing...housing of all sorts is front and center for our community as we emerge from the shadow of COVID. Employers are strugglng to staff main street locations, our hospital keeps getting job offer turn-downs and our schools struggling to replace the crop of retiring teachers. Lack of access to housing,…
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SVED 2020 Q1 Forum A series of industry specific Zoom Presentations to help businesses access assistance 1Q Forum - C19 Resources - Restaurants 1Q Forum - C19 Resources - Construction & Trades 1Q Forum - C19 Resources - Other retail
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Builders Shrink Home Sizes to Appeal to More Buyers
"After years of catering to move-up buyers with substantial budgets, builders are introducing new models with lower price tags and smaller footprints — oftentimes the size of a two-bedroom apartment. They’re doing so by building on smaller lots, skimping on high-end materials, such as granite and brick, and designing floor plans that eliminate formal dining and living rooms, foyers and other spaces that often go unused."
"...homes with the smallest floor plans — the 1,200-square-foot “Adams” model and 1,400-square-foot “Taft” — account for nearly 60 percent of sales, according to the builder, PulteGroup of Atlanta. Both models are built on 40-foot-wide lots and have three bedrooms and two bathrooms."
This can be part of the solution in Blaine County. We need zoning districts that will allow for the small lots however.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Builders-shrink-home-sizes-to-appeal-to-more-13351073.php#photo-16424791
We really like this piece in Bloomberg Businessweek Housing Doesn't Have To Be So Expensive: Bringing down prices requires a combination of affordable homes and upzoning Some excerpts to consider: “Housing prices needn’t be high just because an area is hemmed in by water or mountains” “Constraints on housing prevent…
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Can Blaine County support a YIMBY movement?
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A more balanced economy could help reduce the gap. https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/personal-finance/article215335440.html
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Article by Paul Kenny in the Idaho Business Review https://idahobusinessreview.com/2018/07/24/solutions-to-the-affordable-housing-puzzle/
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The US can't keep up with demand for health aides, nurses and doctors. The US will need to hire 2.3 million new health care workers by 2025 in order to adequately take care of its aging population, a new report finds. But a persistent shortage of skilled workers -- from…
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