Aging in (a New) Place: A flat with a big front porch, and two revenue streams!
If you are thinking about downsizing but don’t want to relocate to a new neighborhood, or to a tiny impersonal apartment in a big boxy building, there are very few choices out there.
Luckily, with Seattle’s Residential Small Lot Zoning (RSL), there are some fresh options. CAST architecture has been working with the land use code for about a year, and now that it is approved in many Seattle Urban Villages and Hubs like Crown Hill, West Seattle, Morgan Junction, and Roosevelt, we want to show off some of the possibilities to do density right!
We often lament that there are essentially very few single level living situations that aren’t little condos, and even fewer that have been built this century.
With this ‘Double Up’ Duplex, there are two primary residences, one at ground level, one up. Each primary residence can be configured with an Accessory Dwelling unit. At 2200 square feet per level Including the ADU), that could be a generous home with a built in rental stream. If someone wanted to develop the whole building, it would be perfectly legal to own the entire building, rent one level, and the ADU adjacent. Don’t want to be a landlord? It can be configured as a condo association.
Downsized, accessible, modern, super energy efficient living, with two revenue streams, not to mention a great front porch and big backyard!
We’re excited about what is possible under Residential Small Lot and hope that the best solutions get adopted far and wide!