Inhabit, But You Must Give Up Your Clothes

Just a few blocks from Zillow in downtown Seattle, stacked on top of one another on the lower roof of the Rainier Square building are two modular homes built by Unico, a real estate investment company. Built in a warehouse in Burlington, WA, these homes arrived via flat-bed truck and were hoisted onto the roof of this building so downtown folks can be charmed by its concept for a few weeks. What’s the concept you ask? “To make housing more accessible to the city for urban professionals who enjoy modern, high design,” says Robert Miranda, a project manager for Unico who is charged with explaining the Inhabit project.

Right now, Inhabit is a prototype and is about 18-24 months away from being a reality with plans for 300 units to be, uh, dropped into Seattle (and Portland) neighborhoods  that are close to downtown (Fremont, Capitol Hill, Wallingford, and Queen Anne). They already have some land for these modular homes and they’re hoping to acquire even more. But you can forget about buying one; these Inhabit modular homes are being planned as rentals, at least for now.

So, what will it cost to rent one? Miranda gave the safe answer of, “Middle market. It depends on the neighborhood and the market.” Comments heard during my lunch hour drop-in ranged from, “I’d buy one. I can’t afford anything else”  to “Where’s the storage space?” Unit types range from studio (450 sq ft), 1-bedroom (675 sq ft), 1-bedroom with terrace (525 sq ft), 2-bedrooms (900 sq ft), and 3 bedrooms with terrace (1,200 sq ft) and can be stacked and formed in any shape desired. Think Legos on a bigger scale.

Cool features include a home computer in the wall that resembles an iPhone — you slide various controls (lights, temperature) on the computer interface with your fingertip and it even tells you how much energy you’re using (Honey! Turn off the flat-screen TV — our energy usage just shot up!). And natch, they’re green conscious (rubber floors, green roofs, energy efficient windows, plumbing features, etc.) so the units can get LEED certified. Lots of light comes in thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows.

 As for the ambiance, yeah, the units feel boxy and IKEA-ish; the secret is to have colorful, slick furnishings and accouterments that give it some zip. Let’s put it this way: Mission-style furniture would not work.

But, let’s be honest: the storage is sorely lacking. I think it would be a major purge-fest for anyone — even crazy minimalists — to be able to call this home for a long period of time. I see these units as a perfect solution for people who split time between other locations. Or, someone who doesn’t have a lot of stuff.