A couple of weeks ago I posted here about a new style of infill house that would be showcased on theModern Homes tour. As promised, I went on the tour and visited all but three of the houses. I wanted to give a brief report on what I saw.
The first house I went to is part of a three-plex off of Vancouver Avenue in the up-and-coming area near Failing and Williams. This house provides one parking spot per unit in the rear, along with a unique outside storage locker. The parking area came off of an alley behind the units. I thought that this was a very good use of the lot. It also has an outside patio on the top floor with nice southerly exposure.
The second house I visited was the Prototype PDX. As I explained in the earlier post, this house had been built by Tamarack Development once before. What I was most interested in seeing in this house was the unattached Accessory Dwelling Unit (“ADU”) in the back. I loved the ADU. It has ample living space and an outdoor area to enjoy for any resident. The back of the unit has the same triangle window as the main house, tying the two together. This house really works because of the deepness of the lot. It provides enough room for the ADU and provides a sizable backyard for the main house. The orientation of the garage to the driveway is along the side, which helps preserve the features from the front of the house.
The third house is a remodel of a classic bungalow in lower Mt. Tabor. This home is really well done inside and has a fabulous backyard. The most interesting thing to me was the interior that reminded me of being on a naval ship.
The fourth home I viewed is a beautiful condo project designed by Holst Architecture called the Clinton Condominiums. The unit that we went to has a fantastic open floor design with very modern interiors.
The fifth home is a modern style home near the Clinton neighborhood. This home has a very open floor design complete with a spiral staircase leading to the upstairs bedroom and outside patio area. This unit would definitely not be for a family, but I could see it working for a single professional.
The final house I went too was built in the 1960s. It has a Frank Lloyd Wright feel, almost like the Ferris Bueller house built in the woods. It features covered deck area mimicking the main house. The interior of this house felt like stepping into a time warp and made me want to hang out with Don Draper while sipping a cocktail. Really there is no other way to describe this place.
This year’s tour showcased a variety of housing types. Beyond the density generated by the Clinton Condominiums, I thought that both the three-plex and Protype-PDX provided unique usage of lots to provide additional density.
I am interested in learning about other infill projects out there that deserve to be highlighted. So if you know of some, please let me know.
For more information on this topic, please contact marketing@jordanramis.com or call (888) 598-7070.
