Micro-apartments

White three-story brick single-room occupancy hotel in downtown Los Angeles, California.

‘Micro-Apartment’ Trend Underscores Housing Crisis

SROs are making a comeback under a new name as the housing supply remains strained and costs soar.

March 22, 2024 - Associated Press via Yahoo News

Seattle Apartments

In Seattle, One-Room Units More Common Than Ever

Over ten percent of housing units in Seattle are single-room units, a new high and the result of a shift in housing costs and trends in recent years.

October 16, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Late Buses Threaten Seattle Micro-Unit Development—Guess Why

An approved, 55 micro-unit, mixed-use development with no parking sited on a transit corridor with 15-minute headways has been halted by a legal ruling after neighborhood opponents proved the bus was not meeting its schedule.

August 12, 2017 - Seattle Weekly

Tiny House Prefab

Throwing Some Cold Water on the 'Tiny Homes' Movement

Small square-footages might be in vogue, but would the occupants of tiny homes really pass up American-Dream spaciousness, given the chance?

June 17, 2017 - The New York Times

A Legislative Challenge to Ballot-Box Planning in California

On March 7, Angelenos will vote on Measure S, which would enact a two-year moratorium on denser development. State legislation introduced on Feb. 16 would require a two-thirds vote for these types of slow growth ballot measures.

February 21, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Modular Housing for Homeless in San Francisco Hits Roadblocks

Lego-type housing construction has attracted the attention of two separate developers as an efficient means to provide housing for the city's large homeless population but has met objections from labor unions and the Mayor's Office.

September 22, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Houston Micro-Condo Development Now to Include Hotel

A New York City micro-unit developer had hoped to sell 550 micro-condos to millennials and empty nesters. The project is being redesigned to reduce the number of micro-condos and add a hotel.

July 29, 2016 - Houston Business Journal

Seattle Mixed Use Development

Seattle Densification Strategy: Build Apartments Without Parking

Not just any apartments, only those served by frequent transit. Developers will still have a "mobility" requirement: In lieu of a parking space, they'll need to provide tenants with transit passes and memberships in car and bikeshare services.

May 11, 2015 - KIRA 7

Where Smaller is More Marketable

Unlike the message of an annoying commercial, bigger may not be better in the real estate market. Residential developers in Washington D.C. have found that millennials like small studios, or micro-units, provided the spaces are well designed.

July 23, 2014 - The Washington Post

Boston’s Micro-Apartment Experiment Continues

Boston, like other cities around the country, suffers from a housing shortage. Initial micro-apartment developments met plenty of demand, but whether the model is a panacea for the city’s housing shortage is still in question.

February 20, 2014 - WBUR

Developers Bet that Micro Apartments Will Work in Smaller Cities

The relatively low cost of micro apartments in high rent cities such as N.Y. and San Francisco makes them a feasible alternative for singles, but will they attract millennials in smaller, lower-rent cities like Providence, Cleveland and Worcester?

December 26, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal - U.S.

Are Small Apartments Hazardous to Your Health?

The growing trend in "micro" living seeks to fill a need for affordable housing in dense and desirable urban environments. But what are the downsides to living in such small spaces? Health experts are raising red flags.

December 21, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

'High-End' Berkeley Micro-Apartment Proposal Receives Chilly Reception

A five-story, 60 ft. building proposal in Berkeley, Calif. that would house 70 'high end' micro-apartments ranging from 307 to 344 sq. ft. was presented to the city's Zoning Adjustment Board, but commissioners and neighbors were not impressed.

August 29, 2013 - Berkeleyside

What subprime crisis? Affordable houses are everywhere.

Micro-Apartments Fill Essential Need

Sarah Watson makes the case for micro-apartments, those controversial 250-350 sq. ft. units that neighbors often oppose but meet a critical need.

August 27, 2013 - The Urbanist

Big Winner of Tiny Apartment Competition Unveiled

Today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the winner of a competition to build a micro-apartment pilot project in Manhattan. Consisting of 55 micro-units measuring between 250 and 375 square feet, the project will utilize modular construction.

January 22, 2013 - The New York Observer

Micro-Apartments Proposal Passes San Francisco Board of Supervisors

Don't call these modern apartments SROs - they go by 'micro-apartments', and they just received a significant approval, 375 of them, that is. One more step awaits: Mayor Ed Lee must give his blessing, and he appears rather non-committal.

December 1, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

New York's Small Apartments Are a Big Hit Among Developers

A pilot project spearheaded by the Bloomberg administration to develop a new housing model for the City’s "growing small-household population," has attracted a big response from interested housing developers.

September 23, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

San Francisco's 160-unit Micro-Apartment Building Seeks Approval

Even smaller than Mayor Bloomberg's 'micro-apartment' proposal for Manhattan, Berkeley developer Patrick Kennedy has his 'SmartSpace' model, based on his experience living in an Airstream trailer, headed to the Board of Supervisors on July 24.

July 19, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

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