The house that developer Troy Turner plans to construct on a vacant lot in Dignowity Hill is smaller than its neighbors, but he thinks the tiny dwelling and others like it have a big future.
Turner, owner of Max Developers, said that more and more homeowners – particularly millennials and empty nesters – are looking to tiny homes as viable options to traditional housing because of their affordability and lower maintenance costs.
“What I’m seeing is a trend of baby boomers who are retiring, but with the amount of income they have, they can’t get into these larger homes, so they go smaller,” Turner said.
Turner’s project took a step forward Wednesday when the City’s Historic and Design Review Commission voted unanimously to approve Turner’s plans for the 300-square-foot house.
The commission’s vote went against City staff’s recommendation to reject the proposal. Staffers felt the home’s orientation and some of its design elements should be changed to better reflect existing shotgun structures on the same block as Sherman Street.
But commission members felt the project, despite its unusual size, was not out of place in the Eastside neighborhood.
Turner’s request includes construction of a concrete driveway and a porch with wooden columns, spanning the entire width of the structure’s widest façade. The lot, which measures 6,447 square feet, is owned by James Deng, a California investor and business partner of Max Developers.
The setback – or how far away it sits away from the street – for the planned house is consistent with setbacks on the lots that flank the property in question. However, the overall orientation of the house was said to be inconsistent in regard to the lot’s immediate surroundings.
“This block of Sherman features two historic shotgun structures,” City staff wrote in its report. “Staff finds that an appropriate orientation for the structure that includes the narrow façade addressing the street, incorporating a front porch, consistent with the neighboring shotgun structures.”
While the proposed entrance is oriented toward Sherman, as required by City guidelines,City staff described the context and scale of the entrance as inappropriate.
And while the planned house is consistent with the mass and scale of surrounding houses, City staff wrote that the “smaller mass of the structure should be oriented toward the street to be comparable to the adjacent shotgun structures.”
Dignowity Hill resident Evelyn Brown briefly spoke in support of City staff’s findings, adding that several neighbors felt similarly troubled by the project. But Brown did not go into the specifics of their concerns.
However, Barbara Garcia, member of the Dignowity Hill Neighborhood Association’s Development Advisory Committee, said her panel supports the proposal.
“This structure with its present facade facing Sherman Street is the appropriate one to do,” Garcia said. “It fits more appropriately with the two houses on either side when having a 12-foot side facing them.”
Turner said he and his colleagues have worked to ensure their tiny house follows City guidelines and the surroundings.
“We’ve done our best to make it fit that neighborhood from an architectural standpoint,” Turner said. He also said the popularity of tiny homes is only the latest wave of the style that’s been around for more than two decades.
“It’s just been going, it’s been expanding every year,” Turner explained. “More and more tiny homes are being built throughout the United States.”
Commission member Daniel Lazarine said City staff’s recommendation to make the tiny house look more like adjacent houses would place “an undue burden on the applicant.”
“Not to mention, I don’t think we’ve ever had a stipulation on a new home that it match [its neighbors],” he said.
Commission Chair Michael Guarino agreed with Lazarine, saying Turner and his colleagues have the right approach.
Turner will need to submit a more detailed site plan before he receives his certificate of appropriateness and construction can start in order to comply with a condition of HDRC’s approval.
Turner had sent to City staff a short narrative to further support his company’s project. He explained that with tiny homes averaging 100 to 400 square feet, they provide simpler lifestyles and efficient living space.
“People are joining this movement for many reasons, but the most popular reasons include environmental concerns, financial concerns, and the desire for more time and freedom,” Turner wrote.
Turner later told the Rivard Report that Max Developers may consider building more tiny homes in and around San Antonio. He also hopes the City will fine-tune its policies to be more accommodating to tiny homes.
Turner did not reply to the Rivard Report‘s question regarding cost of construction in time for publication.
“Once this is finished, we’re probably going to build some more,” he said. “It kind of gives us a direction to go.”
Is there really a “tiny house movement?” Or just a developer trying to put a noble spin on their work? Is there a craftsman house movement? Or a Toyota Camry movement? Does buying a thing make you part of a movement? Only in America
Its’ no longer a ‘movement’, its a form of architecture. What if he is? There was and look at the amazing structures we got from it. I like Camrys. Sometimes.
I’m all for tiny homes for people in any stage of life, but often a tiny home needs to use the lofted space as a sleeping space or other area and I question where this would work for aging people who as time goes on can no longer do stairs (or ladders for that matter) with such ease.
You are making many assumptions here. Tiny homes aren’t only for ‘aging people’, they are practical, sustainable, desirable for several demographics and require imagination around construction and use of space. They drive innovation around consumption (less) and sustainability (more). Dignowity Hill is the perfect site for this.
GKP, my comment was not against tiny homes, I was just commenting on the quote in the story: ““What I’m seeing is a trend of baby boomers who are retiring, but with the amount of income they have, they can’t get into these larger homes, so they go smaller,” Turner said.” that was saying tiny homes would be great for Baby Boomers. I was saying I wasn’t so sure as most aging people need 1 floor spaces without stairs or ladders as they age.
Agree. I’m over seventy, I would have transitioned to a tiny house long ago, but they all seem to require a loft for a sleeping area. I have no knee problems for now, but I am fearful of falls.
What would work better is a Tiny Home community with shared guest room/community space for visiting family and communal kitchen, then you can have a tiny home without any upstairs and bigger space to entertain or be with family!
Love that idea!
From the looks of it, the tiny home is going to raise the neighbors home values & property taxes.
I’m surprised by the concrete driveway. There are engineered structural solutions that replace impervious cover. It’s a failure of imagination. Being really cheap too.
Maybe code requires it???
Bingo.
Its’ no longer a ‘movement’, its a form of architecture. What if he is? There was and look at the amazing structures we got from it. I like Camrys. Sometimes.
“The Not so Small House” book came out over 10 years ago. Since then I rethink space and how often it is used in my life. Although I do not think I could live in less than 1000 Sq Ft. I do applaud the effort. There are a ton of books out now on Small to Tiny houses. On the ageing comment, there are some great floor plans for Granny Pods, which are also very tiny. What a wonderful thing to bring to the city and by a developer no less!!!
Hope to see this project come to life. There is an affordable housing crisis going on throughout the entire United States! I have been wishing San Antonio would be open to allowing tiny homes to be built in the city. I’m 27 and the average cost of a home is well over 100k, so although I want to own my own home, the way the market is going every year it seems less and less likely. Tiny homes are the answer!
This isn’t the first tiny house in the neighborhood. There is a finish one on olive.
How is this news? Really? Nothing more important to report than 1 tiny house?
Nt no one forced you to read it!! Some of us find it interesting that the city approved the small house concept. Not everything is about you.
Still cannot comprehend the ability of the City and “Commissions” to halt progress by telling land owners what they can and cannot build on their own property. I am happy that this particular house is moving forward.
One of the reasons that I may never buy property is due to the overreach of Government which tells me what I can build or not build. Insanity if you are asking me.
Tiny houses have to be built on tiny lots. The city historically has denied building permits on a vacant lot less than 50’wide. But due to the surge of redevelopment in the gentrified east and west sides, the city is being pressured to reassess their nazi stance. Now we need to get them to relax building codes on obsolete flood prone areas near creeks that have had mega major infrastructure to prevent flooding, but the city has not revised the FEMA maps. There are houses in these areas that have been there for more than 50 years, never flooded even before the mega major infrastucture to prevent it was built, and certainly wont flood now. Just vacant lots are a haven for criminal activity and debris being dumped by othe than the owner. This in turn only creates more revenue for the city, as they receive special assessment fees by fining the owner for overgrowth or debris dumping on these vacant lots. so they can cite for code compliance.
12 x 20 is only 240 sg ft on the bottom… if the loft is 6 x 10, that makes the 300?
I’ve got to applaud the HDRC for making the right call here–I’m honestly surprised staff were against this for the reasons pointed out in the article. By orienting the 20-foot width toward the street, that actually helps the building seem more aligned with the scale of buildings already in the neighborhood.
A bigger, and more important, next step would be to allow 2-3 of these on a single lot to make better use of the land and to provide more opportunities for low-cost housing in neighborhoods near jobs and other amenities.
Kudos to Troy Turner for being mindful of the architecture as well, and for actually responding to what people have been asking for.
For those who are applauding the “tiny homes” in our older neighborhoods, just make sure you continue to followup and confirm these “tiny homes” don’t becomes STRs (short term rentals)…….which of course don’t address San Antonio’s problems with affordable and long term housing for the neighborhoods. Just saying…..
Who cares about the size of the house? This isn’t a new idea and it’s not a movement. One of the nagging major problems in Dignowity Hill is vacant lots. This house or “any” house is helping remedy that problem. I also think this house looks nice.
It doesn’t surprise me that Evelyn spoke out against it being part of the anti-everything-crowd that’s holding back progress on the Eastside. Speaking of real movements there is a movement called YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) which is taking hold in a lot of cities right now. These communities are seeing and embracing change instead of resisting it.