Currently in Corpus Christi, TX, the city owns a number of vacant lots it wants to site with homes, according to what caller tells MHProNews, and intends to infill with affordable housing. Streets Committee Chairman Andy Taubman is in favor of using manufactured homes as infill, and to this end, is willing to place two manufactured homes at his cost on property he owns as a demonstration.

The Corpus Christi Business and Job Development Corp.– also know as the Type A board—will see a presentation by Taubman for using MH as infill. The goal is to create affordable housing that will avoid upkeep on vacant properties, revitalize old neighborhoods and build a tax base.

An experiment, the Type A board would provide up to $100,000 for a developer to build a home that would sell for between $60,000 and $80,000. Developers are expected to bid on the empty lots, but then they have to also sell the homes and return the money to the Type A board.

Taubman is receiving support from Bryan Gulley, chairman of the Type A board, who said manufactured homes could provide affordable housing for more people, and it is worth it to have demonstration homes to determine if people are interested.

Currently, zoning ordinances prohibit MH from being sited in single-family neighborhoods, restricting them to manufactured home communities. Questions remain about how the proposal would fit into existing zoning regulations. ##

(Photo credit: archerland2005/flickr–manufactured home)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.