Project Overview
A modular home is a prefabricated building fully constructed and finished in a factory and then delivered to its location. The modules can be either a standalone unit or placed side-by-side, end-to-end, or stacked, allowing for a variety of configurations and styles. The Affordable Housing Modular Factory will be a 31,375 square foot metal building which houses assembly stations to construct modular homes. The purpose of the facility is to produce much needed affordable housing for Boulder Valley residents and workers while providing workforce training for BVSD students.
In 2017, the City of Boulder purchased the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park as part of the Ponderosa Community Stabilization Project which aims to minimize displacement, preserve long-term affordability, replace outdated infrastructure, reduce flood risk to the community and introduce new energy-efficient affordable housing options.
The existing manufactured homes at Ponderosa are old and in need of replacement. New modular homes produced through the Affordable Housing Modular Factory partnership would be healthy, are energy efficient, allow residents to build wealth and will be permanently affordable to extremely low-, low-, moderate-, and middle-income households. The factory is earmarked to build up to 73 new homes for Ponderosa residents in its first years.
The creation of a modular factory in Boulder is proposed through a partnership of the City of Boulder, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) and Flatirons Habitat for Humanity (FHFH).
- The city will provide funding to construct the factory and purchase the tools required to equip this type of facility.
- FHFH will be the certified manufacturer, manage the facility, procure materials and provide organize volunteers, homeowners and professional staff.
- BVSD will provide land for the factory and will use the operation as a teaching facility for its Technical Education Center (TEC) Construction class. Through this partnership, TEC students will be exposed to a broad view of the construction industry.