This weekend I am going to meet 1,000 new friends- that will come through my Sellwood Garden Studio for Portland’s Build Small Live Large ADU Tour!
This is Portland’s 2nd annual Accessory Dwelling Unit tour, drawing attendees from across the country, showing the surging interest in small housing. There will be local ADU experts – like me – and Kol Peterson will be teaching a class to get you started.
There will be 12 ADU’s in North & Northeast Portland neighborhoods on Saturday May 30th and 13 ADU’s to tour in SE Portland on Sunday May 31st. I am lucky number #13 on the SE tour, but the tour is self paced with maps, smart phone map app and even bike racks at each location.
Portland has witnessed an eight-fold rise in the number of ADU permits since 2010.
The City of Portland also has waived system development fees which can save the cost of building up to $11,000. Before the 2010 wavier there were about 30 permits for ADU’s in 2014 there were 262 permits. The waiver is extended until July 2016, so this is the perfect opportunity for homeowners to learn and see about this new housing and investment opportunity.
I built my ADU in 2013 after tearing down a dilapidated garage. It is 400 sq ft, I could of built it up to 800 sq ft – but it has a lovely garden and it was important to have the scale and proportion relate to the red cottage in front. I rent the studio out on Airbnb and have met some wonderful people. When I travel I always enjoy staying at an Airbnb home.
In addition Caravan- The Tiny House Hotel will have six tiny homes on wheels that are open to attendees. The tiny homes on wheels range in size from 100-160 square feet. Many ideas for small space design to take away. This will be the headquarters for the tour and the Saturday Tour Party with Alexa Wiley music from 4-8pm where you can meet other small housing advocates.
If you can not make the tour be sure to visit and learn more about ADU’s at AccessoryDwellings.org and follow my blog for inspiration or contact me to learn how to build your own ADU!
To register for tickets go here. See you at this exciting event!