Geer cities the Joint Center on Housing Studies of Harvard University, saying that, “…nearly 19 million families face housing insecurity. That number is at an all-time high, and it’s been steadily increasing for the past five years.”
Geer ads, “The city’s most recent five-year housing plan for 2014-18, Bouncing Back, promises to invest $1.3 billion to produce or preserve 41,000 affordable homes.” He says the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the main tool needed for housing affordability.
Really?
What Geer may not have considered – or be aware of – is the factory-built home option, and the wisdom of avoiding the temptation of de-facto picking winners and losers through regulations and tax policies. During arguably the most liberal federal administration in U.S. History – with deficits and debts mushrooming – is the precise time frame that the affordable housing crisis has hit Chicago and other cities.
The Broadway Stack and CityScapes are two of the possible examples of successfully using factory built homes in urban settings, each designed to blend into their respective urban settings. Even more affordable applications using manufactured homes are possible, so long as public officials and private business cooperate in intelligent ways.
Manufactured and modular home professional engagement early and often with planners and politicos is the baseline prerequisite to having a seat at the table in projects that could benefit local and federal budgets, create good jobs in our industry, while providing quality affordable homes too. ##
(Photo Credit – top: The Broadway Stack, RealDeal. Bottom: The Mills of Carthage – MHLivingNews)
