Foster Townhomes
AFFORDABLE HOME OWNERSHIP
portland | OR
Client
Habitat For Humanity
Size
40 Townhomes
Built
Projected 2023 Completion
Being home means so much more when you feel like you have a stake in a place that it is actually yours. Constructed in part by volunteers and future home owners, that sense of commitment and belonging gets even deeper. This is a place you don’t have to worry about putting a nail hole in the wall when you hang up your kid’s artwork, a place you can proudly invite family and friends to visit, a place you can put down roots, and get to know your neighbors. Knowing it’s sustainable, that the indoor air is healthy by design, and that energy bills will be low is a huge weight off the mind as well. Cooking in a beautiful new kitchen while watching grandma play with the neighborhood kids in the nature park across the drive is a priceless feeling; bringing that slice of American dream within reach.
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• Home ownership opportunity for those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to build equity through home ownership
• Designed to be partially constructed with volunteer labor and accommodate donated materials
• Family size units up to 5 bedrooms
• Shared common spaces + nature play area
• Earth Advantage - Platinum target
• Net-Zero ready - pursuing grant funding for solar panels
• 80% WESB Certified Design Team
• Air tightness, insulation, and glazing improved beyond code requirements
• Heat pump water heaters and high efficiency split system heat pumps with additional air filtration for minimal energy use
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Home ownership is so elusive to so many of us, and it is becoming increasingly hard to achieve. Yet it remains a key feature of the middle class, often the only meaningful way to build generational wealth in this country. Being able to own a home and build equity allows people to put down roots, engaging with their neighbors to build more resilient communities.
The critical importance of this mission is why we’ve been thrilled to build a long-term relationship with Habitat’s Portland chapter, working together to create more equitable access to home ownership for people of color and families that have been systematically blocked or displaced from this essential resource while building more dense, socially connected, and sustainable community at the same time.
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This was a meeting of the minds with the Habitat for Humanity team and sharing their passion for innovation toward better livability and health for the owner occupants. We worked together to streamline constructability for Habitat’s construction staff and allow for the potential of using volunteer labor, leveraging donated materials to improve design through creative thinking including modular Ikea cabinetry, rigid insulation boards, and more.
Once our team was able to fully uncover Habitat’s goals for both constructability and long-term livability, we were able to identify better systems that further reduce energy use while enhancing occupant health; providing a well sealed environment with filtered and conditioned air to make homeowners’ often multi-generational households more resilient in the face of a rapidly changing climate and the health threats that come from wildfires, viral pandemics, and more.
Always a team effort, it’s our pleasure to help clients accomplish more without costing more. Knowing that future owners will truly reap the benefits of zero energy, improved health, and a place to truly belong; keeps us going day in, and day out until all the world is housed!
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Several open green space with nature play area, close to park.