Art in Architecture

The challenge was a daunting one—three years ago local Realtors were wringing their hands as prices soared, trying to figure out a way to encourage the construction of more affordable homes.

Then real estate agent Steven L. Chitwood suggested that the Realtors build the houses themselves and, while they were at it, make them look so good that they would be welcome in any neighborhood.

"The whole idea was to demonstrate that an affordable house didn't necessarily mean an ugly little box that you wouldn't want in your neighborhood," says Chitwood, owner and president of Realty Showcase in Winter Park and a real estate instructor at Valencia Community College.

"I knew that if enough people joined together toward a common goal, the result could be aesthetically pleasing new homes that people with modest incomes could afford."

Like a spark to kindling, Chitwood's suggestion ignited a firestorm of support, and a program called Art in Architecture was born.

The Orlando Regional Realtor Association created a foundation and endowed it with $60,000 to buy four lots in the down-on-its-heels Holden Heights neighborhood. The American Institute of Architects, under then-president John Ehrig, signed up three firms—The Evans Group, Nasrallah Fine Architectural Design and Fugelberg Koch Architects—to design three of the four homes for free. The Young Architects Forum, a group of architects at the beginning of their careers, designed the fourth.

The Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando also offered a formal endorsement and three builder-members—Bel-Aire Homes, The Watson Group and Westar Homes—agreed to build the homes at cost.

"Everyone just rolled up their sleeves and jumped in," says Larry White, founder of Westar Homes. "It all came together with a lot of good momentum."

Finally three interior designers—Builders Design Studio, Carolyn Franklin Interiors and Socco Interiors—donated their time to decorate the homes with a meager $1,500-per-house budget and hand-me-downs from timeshare mogul David Siegel's Westgate Resorts Foundation.

"It was an exercise in creativity," says Natalie Sorrentino of Socco Interiors. "We had to come up with unique ideas for execution and even approached family and friends looking for donated items. We also hunted through antique stores looking for low-cost items that have character and personality."

Those first four homes, built on 24th and 25th streets between Orange Blossom Trail and Rio Grande Drive, became a national showcase for what grassroots groups can do to help create affordable housing as well as a catalyst for change in the neighborhood where run-down homes and absentee landowners were common.

Last spring, the four custom-designed homes were sold to first-time homebuyers, counseled through the HANDS of Central Florida affordable-housing information clearinghouse.

"One of the Holden Heights owners is a gentleman in his mid-50s who's a maintenance worker at the University of Central Florida who's also studying for a degree in business," says Chitwood. "Another is a single mother with three children who had been living in subsidized housing for years and finally realized her dream of owning a new home."

But even before the buyers moved in, the Art in Architecture idea had begun spread across the area and the country.

The City of Winter Park latched onto the idea first, deeding a whole block of land in its rapidly gentrifying westside to a land trust for an Art in Architecture II project. The first four homes in that project are finished, and another six are scheduled to be complete by September.

The program quickly gained national acclaim when the National Association of Realtors named it one of the top affordable housing projects in the country.

Realtors from around the country toured the Holden Heights and Winter Park Art in Architecture projects during their Orlando convention last fall and many have taken the concept home, where they're making plans to start programs of their own, says Chitwood.

The first Art in Architecture project has been a financial success as well.

ORRA was able to recoup its investment, plus a little more, from the sale of its first four homes, plowing the money back into its endowment pot. In the meantime, the group upped its ante in the affordable housing business, raising its endowment for Art in Architecture projects to $750,000.

With the funds, the organization has bought enough land at eight different sites in Holden Heights to build 60 townhomes and has obtained the financing for their construction, Chitwood says.

Negotiations are under way with the city of Orlando to turn its former Holden Heights brickyard into a development with 34 additional town homes and 10 more single-family homes as well.

Art in Architecture has switched its emphasis from building single-family detached houses to townhomes because of rapidly climbing land prices, Chitwood notes.

The realtors paid an average of $10,500 each for the first four Holden Heights sites, enabling them to sell the homes for between $112,000 (for a 900-square-foot, one-bedroom model) and $130,000 (for a 1,400-square-foot, five-bedroom model).

In more expensive Winter Park, where sites cost about $20,000 each, land costs had to be taken out of the equation to make the 10 homes affordable for low-end buyers.

The three-bedroom, two-bath homes in Winter Park will sell for about $125,000, but the price doesn't include the land beneath them. Buyers will receive a 99-year lease for the land, which will continue to be owned by a community land trust.

Architect Don Evans of The Evans Group, who has been designing homes for Art in Architecture from the beginning and is working on the new town homes, says the architects are steadily getting better at the challenging task of designing small homes well.

"Winter Park is even a little nicer than Holden Heights," Evans says. "We're hoping, as we build each time, we get a little better, a little more color, nicer detailing."

Well-designed homes "raise the bar" in neighborhoods, inspiring other property owners to improve and clean up their own property, Evans adds.

Evans tries to design the homes with as many bedrooms as possible because they're likely to be occupied by multiple generations. For example, the home he designed for the first Holden Heights project has five bedrooms "so everyone can have their own space."

Porches and garages, two expensive elements that are often eliminated from lower-priced homes, are a must to Evans. He notes that porches foster neighborhood friendliness and garages keep cars off the street and provide a home for lawnmowers, bicycles and toys.

While Evans acknowledges the number of Art in Architecture homes in the works will meet only a small part of the growing need for affordable homes in the area, he likens the project to planting a wildflower garden.

The first year's plantings may be sparse, but each of those plants will bear hundreds of seeds.

"Everyone, no matter how much they have to spend, should be able to live in good architecture," Evans says. "We hope this is an idea that will spread like wildflowers and plant itself all across the country."

A DREAM COME TRUE

Those interested in buying an Art in Architecture home may contact HANDS of Central Florida at (407) 740-0805. The organization counsels potential homebuyers and helps low- and moderate-income buyers connect with various down-payment assistance programs.

Winter Park is building the next available Art in Architecture houses. Potential buyers who once lived on the site of the new homes or in the West Winter Park neighborhood as well as city employees will be given extra consideration when buyers are chosen.