Alley Dwellings Looking More Attractive

Developers and property owners in Washington, D.C. are responding to a wave of interest in alley living—a residential arrangement once considered a sign of squalor is now considered unique and urban. Alley dwellings are NOW priced at upper levels of the housing market.

Mary Hui provides in-depth coverage of the trend in the D.C. real estate market:

While the rehabilitation of vacant alley buildings into residential homes is not new to the city, the recent flurry of activity involving alleys — both from developers like Ruppert and individuals like Wing — points to a growing public consciousness of all that an alley can hold.

Hui presents the growing popularity of alley residential dwellings as a symptom of the affordable housing crisis. "Alley dwellings, experts say, help by creating housing options in existing, underused space," writes Hui.

Alley programs are becoming more common in other cities, too. "In Austin, the Alley Flat Initiative has identified a network of vacant and underused alleys in the city’s east, and is working to build alley flats in the residential lots facing these alleys," according to Hui.

In Denver, the Single Family Plus housing initiative "will kick off next spring with the goal of building 250 backyard or alley homes over five years." In Denver's case, the program is designed to build Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), which differ in definition from alley lot dwellings, but they reflect a similar purpose, according to Hui: "putting free space to use."