Richmond joins tiny home boom amid housing crunch
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Richmond is slowly joining the tiny home movement that's taking root across the country.
Why it matters: As Richmond debates zoning reforms to allow for denser housing, tiny home projects could become a key piece of the affordability puzzle.
By the numbers: The trend here is in its very early stages, with about 1.9% of local apartments qualifying as "micro-housing," per a StorageCafe report.
- That means they measure under 455 square feet, though the smallest units in the city come in at around 288 square feet.
- Richmond ranks 60th among the country's most tiny-home-friendly cities.
- But it ranks 13th nationwide for development of micro-units: They account for about 15% of new construction underway.
Context: The average rent of a micro-unit in Richmond is about $1,150, compared to the average rent of $1,560, per StorageCafe.
Zoom in: Some of the new construction could soon include a neighborhood of 30 to 40 tiny homes off Chamberlayne Avenue.
- City Council approved the sale of the city-owned lots in May to Eden Village of Richmond, which said at the time that it intends to rent the 400-square-foot homes for around $350 per month.
- The nonprofit plans to prioritize applicants who have been homeless for over a year and have a chronic illness, per its proposal.
Project lead Cathy Ritter tells Axios that Eden Village is finalizing land surveys and site plans to apply for a Special Use Permit and has about $90,000 left to raise to acquire the property.
- If all goes to plan, Ritter hopes the group can clear the site and build a model home by early next summer.
Zoom out: Nationally, StorageCafe says the number of micro-housing units has more than doubled compared to the early 2000s, driven largely by a push to ease a growing affordability crisis.
- San Francisco (with 15% of all housing considered tiny homes) and Seattle (12%) lead the charge.
- Some are half the price of a regular rental unit.