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Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay (2017) Print
2017 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Housing
└ Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
└ Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
An increasing number of older adults are at risk of losing their homes. Common reasons include rising housing costs or homes that are unsuitable for aging in place. According to David Foster, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay, 300 families in the high-cost Santa Cruz area are income-burdened. To address this, Habitat for Humanity's My House My Home program builds aging-friendly accessory dwelling units. This project involved building an ADU attachment onto an older couple's home. That allowed the couple to rent out the unit, providing them with rental income that allowed them to remain in their home of 50 years. Grant funding also supported accessibility to the main house, including a new walkway and ramp, as well as low-water landscaping. They have the option to move into the ADU - which also includes accessibility features - if they choose to downsize in the future.
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Atlanta, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: To educate the public about options to age in place, MicroLife Institute created a 4-minute informational video on accessory dwelling units -- small dwellings built on a property alongside a preexisting single-family home. The video features firsthand accounts of what it's like to live in or build an ADU. For Katharine Connell, a young Atlanta mother and homeowner, an ADU means multi-generational housing for her aging mother. My mom and I have always been very close, she tells viewers. For others in the video, renting out an ADU led to supplemental income or provided tenants with more affordable option, helping them remain in their neighborhood. Organizers say they hope the video serves as a tool to mobilize residents to demand their local commissions permit more housing options, including ADUs.
Lexington, KY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: An anticipated change in Lexington's zoning laws to permit accessory dwelling units inspired the creation of a Homeowner's Guide to Accessory Dwelling Units. To build interest in ADUs and provide examples for the publication, the University of Kentucky School of Design hosted a design competition for students and alumni. Cash prizes were awarded to the first, second and third place winners from each group. The ADU manual that came out of the grant -- a tangible document that people can have in their hands to understand what we're talking about -- was crucial to helping us convey the message we needed in order to bring about change, said Chris Woodall, manager of long-range planning for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.
Orlando, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: The project will raise awareness of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and make the permit process more user-friendly for intergenerational households that want to build an ADU for older family members.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
San Jose, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the local economy in San Jose's Washington neighborhood. To help meet the community's needs, Veggielution hosted free arts and environmental education programming. The local nonprofit, which aims to connect people through food and farming, invited people to the SoFa pocket park, which the organization created on the site of an underused parking lot. Events included a monthly garden art workshop and live musical and theater performances by local arts organizations. Additionally, Veggielution worked with a local arts school to create a mural for the pocket park. The activities helped link residents to resources, such as food assistance and entrepreneurship training, and connected local nonprofit organizations to each other, creating a better web of support for the community.
Seaside, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: United Way of Monterey County constructed two accessory dwelling units in Seaside. Each unit meets standards for visitability and is deed-restricted, which requires the units to be rented out at affordable rates. To reduce costs and cut down on permitting times for residents interested in building their own ADUs, the United Way also created prototype ADU blueprints and made them available on Seaside's website. In addition, they held four workshops to educate the public about the value of infill development for housing affordability. Over 400 people attended and since the workshops the City has received more than 60 applications for ADU permits, with many using the pre-approved ADU plans. Project organizers say the County and nearby Salinas have since made their own ADU plans available to the public.
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