LANSING, N.Y. — On the heels of Cornerstone Group’s intent for affordable housing in Lansing comes official word of the second developer to sign a purchase agreement in Lansing’s long-envisioned Town Center project. Tiny Timbers, the Dryden-based modular home development company, has agreed to buy nearly ten acres of land from the town with for-sale housing in mind.
Under the working name “Lansing Community Cottages,” Tiny Timbers purchased 9.6 acre Parcel “E” from the town for $51,920 for a “community of micro housing units with open space and other amenities.” The homes would be clustered and parking areas would be shared to maximize green space. Ten are planned in the first phase, with a full build-out of approximately sixty new homes that would sell in the $175,000-$225,000 range.
The sale of Parcel “E” is the second to be inked after the sale of Parcel “C” to Cornerstone in May. At this time, approximately 32 acres of the 156 acre property have approved purchase agreements, with more expected in the coming months as responses to the town’s Request for Proposals (RFP) are reviewed and selected by an appointed town committee.
To Tiny Timbers owner Buzz Dolph, the Town Center land seemed like a good fit. “Well, it’s pretty underutilized. Lansing is really interested in trying to bring more affordable housing to that area, try to grow it more. We felt it was something that might be a good match.”
“Over the last few months, they’ve decided we are a good fit. Our initial proposal is for ten houses, and we’ll put out a {complete development} plan and within 18 months, 2 years. The RFP has a 2-year lifespan in which we have to complete the planning process, we’ll begin to sell houses before we start construction of homes. If those contingencies aren’t met, the RFP won’t move forward. There’s a lot of hurdles we have to get over, but the big one was the town showing that they are willing to put their trust in us and move forward with it.”
For two year-old Tiny Timbers, the Lansing proposal is only the latest in their growing portfolio. The company has been actively working with a development team that includes architect Noah Demarest of STREAM Collaborative, urban planner David West of Randall+West, and realtor Brent Katzmann of Warren Real Estate, and the first customer home was delivered earlier this year. The certified living-wage company now employs eleven at its warehouse on Hall Road in Dryden, where it assembles timber-frame components used in the construction of its modular home “kits”.
“We’re pretty happy with our designs, we have a product that captures a nice architectural look with a method that allows us to build relatively inexpensively, and this market, to find houses on land under $250,000 that are new and well-built, with green, all-electric {utilities} is tough to find. We feel that we’re in a price point that is pleasing, people seem to be embracing it. All of our Ellis Hollow lots have been sold, with septic, driveway, all costs included for under $250,000. To date we have eight houses under contract; one is done, three are under construction, and the four in Ellis Hollow. Our goal is to turn over a house over every four weeks.”
“There has been a lot of interest, business is going quite well,” added Caleb Dolph, Buzz’s son and business partner. “We’re just trying to keep up with expansion, making sure that all these gears are in the right places. It’s sustainable growth – if we grow too quickly, our product quality may suffer. We want every house to meet our standards.”
Construction costs for the homes are kept low by using standardized modular components to speed up construction and reduce labor costs, and by keeping the houses modestly-sized. The sixteen home designs range from a completed 600 SF house that sells for $123,900, to a 1,900 SF home with a finished basement that sells for $197,900, land and well/septic not included. Most of the homes fall between 1,000 and 1,500 SF, with a $140,000-$180,000 price tag.
On the heels of the 4-lot Ellis Hollow plan will come a bigger project, as Tiny Timbers expects to launch marketing for its 15-lot Varna project in the next few weeks. Plans are also being fleshed out for a Tiny Timber home cluster off of Campbell Avenue on the city of Ithaca’s portion of West Hill.
Ultimately, Buzz Dolph hopes that Tiny Timbers could transition from a home builder to a kit supplier, building the component to supply home builders in Tompkins County and surrounding regions, while Caleb Dolph cautioned that it’s a long-term goal. “We’re focused on refining our product, and proving that this model can work. We’re still modifying the designs a lot and we’re still in development phase, we’re still in control of the entire process from start to finish, and we don’t want to put the cart in front of the horse.”