New Resource: Faster, Better, More
Insights | June 20, 2019 | by Linda Couch
How can new construction and techonolgy approaches result in faster, better and more affordable housing?
A new report from Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) for BRIDGE Housing, a San Francisco-based developer and manager of affordable housing, looks at housing development costs and new ways to approach construction to address cost issues.
Andrea Ponsor and Adam Cohen are the principal authors of the report, Faster, Better, More.
Ponsor and Cohen delve into the housing cost drivers of land, regulation, materials, and labor (with a focus on the last two), as well as promising approaches to construction that may offer cost savings when building quality affordable housing.
Faster, Better, More scans three broad alternative construction methods, Offsite Construction of Housing and Components, Alternative Materials and Components – Mass Timber and Tall Timber, and Integrated Project Delivery, through the lens of materials, labor and process. Materials, labor and process are focused on, the report says, “developers like BRIDGE are able to more quickly drive innovation in materials, labor and process since these selections are typically controlled by the developer and are repeated in each transaction.”
Policy recommendations conclude the report. Policies impacting zoning and entitlements, codes and inspection, labor and economic development, and financing can each be improved, according to the authors, to bring more new construction to communities faster and better.