ORLANDO, Fla. — Originally Posted
Central Florida is now the worst place in the country to find an affordable home and it’s a problem that hits especially hard at the prime workforce of the community: low-wage tourism and hospitality employees. And the problem doesn’t stop there. Families that were once considered middle class are priced out of the American dream of owning a home and some from even renting a home.
Hundreds of thousands of people are caught in this crisis. Thousands of homes simply do not exist where they are needed and billions of dollars have been collected to help deal with the problem, but spent elsewhere. What must not be forgotten is that at the heart of it all is the people. They are all hard-working, struggling to get by and just looking for a stable place to call home.
GOING SMALL TO SOLVE A BIG PROBLEM
Quality. Affordable. Home Ownership.
First time home buyer? Downsizing? A micro-cottage may be the answer for the Orlando affordable housing crisis. With over 330,000 people moving to Florida every year, The Orlando, Kissimmee, Sanford area only has 13 affordable housing units available per 100 families that need them. Through a partnership of development and design, these 800 – 1,200 square foot homes could be the answer for many central Florida families.
Forefront Architecture and Engineering has served many home builders at the national level, but reached out to Primo Homes to develop the concept of quality, affordable housing prices under $200,000. The solution, a micro-cottage concept with quality finishes and a thoughtfully designed floor-plan to provide all the comforts and amenities of a large home.
While considered a micro-cottage due to the square footage of the unit, they are still single family homes. This idea of a detached concept from multi-family or apartment living promotes a sense of home ownership in local communities. This design is targeted for the first time home buyer, eco-conscious consumers, downsizing baby boomers, and even millennials.
Providing central Florida with homes that are affordable for first time buyers or extremely low income families, comes with the challenge of finding ways to reduce cost but provide a high level of quality in the final product. These micro-cottages have been designed with a residential manufacturing in mind to achieve this. Forefront’s sister company Centrum Components LLC allows for these units to be built in a shorter amount of time reducing construction costs through panelization.
PRIMO HOMES
Primo Homes has developed a deep experience in dealing with a wide variety of international business issues, ranging from real estate development to commercial properties, always with a great passion for quality and an emphasis on excellence. Our mission at Primo Homes is to perform each project on time, within budget, and with the highest quality standards to transform the combined views of project owners and consultants into an impeccable physical reality through collaborative teamwork and management of qualified resources. However, what we really aspire to do is to build something better than expected, with our personal attention to every detail.