As single-family neighborhoods evolve, what comes next?
Pre-fab builders see big opportunities with new state law
Inside the Veev factory in Union City, rolls of recycled steel and stacks of white composite material are slowly turned into a most basic building block — walls.
Company CEO Amit Haller says the customization of these simple structures offers a nearly endless supply of design choices for creating new homes and apartments.
On a construction site, workers assemble the walls like a snap-together model, complete with plumbing, electrical systems, insulation and finished siding. The home or apartment is built in a fraction of the time it traditionally takes.
In a state with new housing laws knocking down single-family home restrictions in an effort to boost supply, is this what new home construction will look like?
“We need to shorten the time to construct a home. That’s where we can help,” said Haller, a supporter of California’s new regulations. “We see the home as a product.”
Making small, infill housing faster and cheaper to build is the bottom line for new construction in the ultra-expensive Bay Area, where land and construction costs top nearly every developed region in the world.
Factory home builders see bold new opportunities in a sweeping new state law signed this fall, SB 9. Beginning Jan. 1, the state will allow many owners of single-family homes to build duplexes or subdivide and develop their properties. The rise of factory-built housing, either in modules, flat panels or a combination, could become a go-to solution for homeowners looking to enhance their lots.
State lawmakers say SB 9 is part of a strategy to build new homes and small apartments in existing neighborhoods in a housing-starved state. It also seeks to break down more than a century of housing policy based on segregation — keeping apartment buildings and poor, minority renters out of White neighborhoods.
The new law streamlines the development process, limiting environmental challenges and local government control. It allows up to two duplexes on a single-family lot.
The basic pitch by developers of factory-built housing: Homebuilding is a messy, complex and expensive journey. Modular construction — inspected and permitted in a factory, easily configured, and much faster and usually cheaper than traditional building — takes some of the cost and many of the headaches away from homeowners.
Redwood City startup Abodu expects more interest in their turnkey installation of in-law units.
“It really is just an extension of our business,” said Abodu co-founder John Geary. “It’s an opportunity for us, but it’s also an opportunity for single-family homeowners across the state.”
The company ships modular studios, and one- and two-bedroom ADUs on flatbed trucks, then hoists the pre-assembled units into back and side yards with cranes. The startup has secured pre-permitting clearance from 50 California cities, including many in the Bay Area.