Moving Right Along...

It seems Jeff and Kate are doing much better at documenting this process than I am, so please look at their blog [http://www.squarerootarch.com/blog/] which has videos and describes in more detail the processes that are happening.

In our world, we were told that we were responsible for buying 38 of the 50 light fixtures in the house. We were a little surprised by this thinking that IBS would be providing more of the fixtures than they are, but at least we have the ability to pick out things we like. We met with Kara Manning at Lightology who was incredibly helpful in helping us pick out reasonably priced attractive fixtures that are also energy efficient. For our LEED Platinum certification we need to have at least 28 of the 38 fixtures be energy efficient (LED or flourescent) which is not that easy to find. Fortunately Lightology had a lot of solutions. We are saving our "non-ultra-energy efficient" selections to some of the more fun lighting options, such as the pendant light over the dining room table where we don't want to skimp on style or ambiant lighting. A question did come up for lighting options that can be "retrofit" with energy efficient options and whether that would meet the LEED rating since a future owner could go ahead and put regular old incandescent bulbs in without recourse. We are still following up this and will keep you posted.

In the meantime, we've been struggling to get Peoples Energy to come out to the site to set up gas service. They've been a little difficult and slow to respond. Thank goodness for our superintendent Tom Cichy who seems to have the patience of a saint. We called ComEd, and they seem to be a little more on top of things, but service needs to be installed after the modules are already on the site.

We are still assuming that the modules will be set the first week of November (or maybe slightly later). Will definitely post pictures of the setting, but more important hope to get pictures of construction in the factory to show you.

Day 10

Michael took this picture on the way home from work. Major progress! We are meeting with Helios and Jeff tomorrow so will definitely get status report and more pix.

Momentum

Yes, it's been a long time since I posted, but that doesn't mean things haven't been moving along. We have selected a General Contractor, we have found a lender, and we have solidified the budget. All of these things have good and bad issues related to them.

General Contractor:

Jeff bid out the project to seven General Contractors. Four responded. The bids varied widely, but had one thing in common --- they were WAY over what we had budgeted for. I believe I discussed this before, but there was a lack of knowledge as to what their role would be after the modules come to the site (meaning that the excavation/foundation work should be priced similar to a stick-built home, so the pricing is known). One GC had an idea about putting "known" items under a GC contract and then having them do "Construction Management" for the other elements, potentially paying an hourly wage so that we would pay only for work completed. This was an interesting proposal, but without a firm price was risky to say the least. Also the lenders that we spoke to would not necessarily allow this structure --- they wanted a General Contract for the entire construction project. So this was a no go. So Jeff scrutinized the budget line items and came up with a list, as specific as he could make it, with each line item defined. Two GCs were now in the running, somewhat pissed that they had to work so hard for for this project. Jeff and Michael and I conferred and basically agreed that at this point, it really came down to price. For me, though, it was also an idealogical issue in that I wanted our GC to come on board understanding the significance of this project, realizing that we were breaking new ground (literally) and be willing to work with us on price, or at least as much as they could. Well, when it came down to it, one GC was significantly less than the other, so the option was clear. This did not go down well with the other guy, and words were said and feelings were hurt, and, well, it was a bit uncomfortable. But we feel good about who we have chosen. He seems to have the right attitude about sustainability and has been relatively "drama-free," both good things.

Lenders:

So I have mentioned in the past the fear of prefab by most conventional lenders. We have been working with Gold Coast Bank, a small, local bank, that seemed to be all on board. I know folks have mentioned Land/Home Financial, and Jason Pachl at L/H has been great, but their fees are really high compared to other financial institutions. Specifically, they had a 2% origination fee, compared to others which ranged from .5% and 1%. This small difference was going to make a huge difference for the size loan we were seeking. Also, we did want a Chicago bank to get their feet wet on prefab so that there was a precedent set and knowledge that we were not building a double-wide. Everything was going along swimmingly until I received an email from the lender saying "give me a call when you get a chance." Apparently the bank's board was now uncomfortable with this idea, and although they were not going to leave us in a lurch, decided that they could not fund our construction loan at the level we needed, requiring us to put in cash assets towards the construction that we were uncomfortable putting up.

Now, it's not impossible to do this, but it is frustrating nonetheless, so were undecided on whether to go forward with them, or to go with Land/Home and pay extra fees. Some of you have potentially heard of a new bank opening up in Chicago called Green Choice Bank (http://www.greenchoicebank.com/#/home). We knew about them, and really wanted to use them, but as they are not "open for business" until mid-2010, we didn't think the timing would work. Well, now that it is almost June, it's a possibility that we could work with them. So this is something we are now exploring. In any case, our desire is to break ground in late June --- that's our story and we're sticking to it.

Budget:

Well, I can firmly say that this house is no longer "affordable," but Jeff and Kate have learned some lessons that could potentially make the NEXT person that wants to build this home more affordable than ours is. One of the issues is that the foundation, which has interesting notches to take advantage of natural light, costs way more than a solid rectangle/square foundation. Also, our choice of appliances and cabinetry have increased the price somewhat substantially. Truth is, there are no more changes that we are willing to make to the house --- we want what we want. I still think that, once built, the house will cost less to build because it is prefabricated than it could be built on site. This gives us some comfort, but our bank account is not so happy. Certainly one way to lower the price is to buy cheaper land. Also, the more that can be done in the factory, the better.

Last, but not least, the house, Square Root Architecture + Design, and Michael and I were profiled in the Chicago Tribune on May 21st: (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/ct-x-c-prefab-housing-0521-20100521,0,5254251.story) which is totally cool. It's all about trying to build prefab in Chicago and the obstacles being faced.

So the title "Momentum" is to show that, albeit with some low points, things are coming together. This may just happen yet!

Construction Loans

So, we've been rolling merrily along, firming up pricing, in order to finally apply for a construction loan. What I've found is that there are very few banks in which will provide new construction loans for single-family homes. This isn't very surprising, but it is a concern nonetheless. What is surprising is that Abraham had found a lender that specializes in financing the construction of modular homes. This company, based out of Minnesota, is called Land Home Financial Services Inc. (http://www.land-home.net/modular_program_details.html). They offer a "One-Time Close" which modifies the construction loan into a permanent mortgage at completion. While this sounds perfect, it doesn't look like we will have a lot of opportunity to shop around for rates, so we are hoping that Land Home is competitive.

I did call Land Home and spoke to Jason Pachl who handles the territory that includes Illinois. He was very helpful. He said that the average time it takes to get approved for a loan is 30 to 45 days, so if we want to really start this project in March, we will hopefully get our final pricing in soon so we can apply with full knowledge of what the loan amount will be.

In other news, Jeff has bid our project out to several general contractors who he feels will be on board with what we are trying to achieve. We should get bids back in the next couple of weeks, so then I can announce with better certainty what the pricing will be. So far we are estimating that the complete home, including our fancy tastes (i.e. floating staircase, PV panels, high-end appliances, etc.) will estimate at $175/sf. Jeff still believes that the home could cost $125/sf if completed at the factory with their specifications and selections, so this can still be a model for affordable housing in the city. The nice thing is that it can be modified to the owners specifications if they (we) are willing to foot the bill. I still think $175/sf, if that's a solid number, is pretty amazing for all that we are going to get!

By the way, we were interviewed by reporter Lisa Skolnik for a piece in the AIA's monthly trade magazine's March issue. Once it comes out, I will certainly post here. Very exciting!!

Is Prefab in Chicago Impossible?

Well, that's what I have been told by developers. My husband and I have been in love with modern prefab designs for years, but did not think it could ever be done in Chicago. We were actually thinking of relocating to Seattle --- well, for other reasons, really, but partially because they are sweet on prefab in Seattle. Not only do we love the modern design, but the sustainability features and cost are attractive as well.



Michael and I like clean lines and modern spaces. We had looked for homes that were "modern," but in our price range we could only find condos, and we really want a single-family home. There are many beautiful modern single-family homes, but they didn't fit our needs for several reasons: 1) they were over a million dollars, 2) they would have over 4,000 square feet of space, which is completely inefficient for two people who do not expect to have children, 3) they would often be attractive, but not necessarily energy efficient, and 4) did I mention that they are over a million dollars?



We toyed with the idea of buying an older home or two-flat and rehabbing it, but the expense and the inconvenience of living through it seemed overwhelming to us.


Well, lo and behold, I was able to find, through the help of some colleagues, an architecture firm in Chicago that has the same philosophy that we do. Square Root Architecture + Design http://www.squarerootarch.com/ is a local Chicago architecture and design firm headed by Jeff Sommers. Apparently he has this same prefab dream, and also is sustainability conscious, and has been working on a design for a prefab model for a while now. He and his staff have designed what they are calling the Urban C3 or U-C3 http://c3prefab.squarerootarch.com/. Take a look at the website and see what they're all about. We fell in love with it right away.

Square Root is ideally trying to design a model that not only is incredibly energy efficient, but also affordable. They are currently modifying the design to make the model as cost efficient as possible --- ideally the U-C3 baseline model will cost approximately $125 per square foot. Also, Square Root has designed the building to meet all the zoning and building codes in Chicago - no small task. I will continue to discuss this model in future posts.

So, long story short, Michael and I are signing on --- we want to build the first U-C3 in Chicago, and, as far as we know, the first prefab in Chicago. Our goal is to have this home built before the end of 2009! My hope for this blog is to highlight the process for anyone else who is interested in this type of architecture, so that they may learn from our successes and mistakes. More to come!