Making room

Subsidies can help, but even if someone qualifies for one, there are still far too few housing units designated for someone earning at that income level, and far too many people clamoring for those few units. If Redwood City succeeds in meeting the housing goals it has been charged with by the year 2031, though, it will have created at least 643 additional units for which our median millennial would qualify (and possibly as many as 965, if the city meets its self-imposed stretch goals). Naturally, the vast majority of those units will be provided through large multifamily housing projects such as ELCO Yards and Broadway Plaza, each of which should produce 24 units designated for those earning at the very low income level (along with many more units at other income levels).

As someone who cares about affordable housing and who would like to do more than just cheer on development projects containing affordable units, for some time now I’ve been considering an additional method by which Redwood City hopes to achieve its affordable housing goals: an Accessory Dwelling Unit.

Some folks build ADUs to house aging relatives or older children. A few even build them to live in themselves, leaving their main house free to be rented out. I know for certain of two such places in Redwood City where the older single occupant did just this, intentionally building an ADU as their new residence and then renting out the main house for a tidy monthly income. In my case, however, my wife and I would remain in our main house; any ADU we build would simply be a way to turn part of our backyard into a living space for someone who cannot otherwise afford our area’s high rents.

Recently, my wife and I spent the better part of an hour in the Friendly Acres neighborhood, watching as a crane hoisted an ADU from a large flatbed truck, flew it over a house, and gently set it on a foundation that had been constructed in the backyard of the ADU’s new owner. This particular ADU was a prefabricated one-bedroom unit from Adobu, a Redwood City-based company that makes units like these in sizes ranging from 340 square feet (in a studio configuration) up to 610 square feet for a unit with two bedrooms and one bathroom.

One could easily build an ADU using conventional construction methods, of course, but a prefabricated unit does have advantages. For one, the price is agreed upon at the outset, and seems less likely to change than if it was built conventionally. For another, the work crews spend a relatively small amount on-site: prior to delivery they need only construct the foundation and run utilities, and afterwards they simply attach the unit to the foundation, hook up the utilities, install exterior lights and build a small attached deck.

Sometimes, though, the old ways really are the best. Many ADUs are constructed by remodeling an existing garage, either by turning the space formerly used to house cars into the ADU itself, or by adding the ADU as a second-story addition. Other ADUs are built as attachments to the main house. Plus, craning a prefabricated ADU into place isn’t always possible.

Although a prefab unit is tempting, my wife and I would likely go the conventional route, which would let us build something that better fits the space at the back of our somewhat oddly shaped lot. While the construction process would be something of an inconvenience, it’d be a good feeling knowing that I’m providing a comfortable living space to someone — maybe even a millennial! — at a truly affordable price.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.