31–40 of 42 posts
I'd be perfectly fine with modular homes if they were any cheaper than traditional construction, but they're not. It really makes no sense at all for anyone other than remote/rural builds.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The picture of modular housing isn't at all what this project is going to look like. Yes, prefab does add some constraints but you only produce a building that looks like a stack of shipping containers if that's what you want. And, is this development really so bad? There's a bunch of additional housing created; Costco gets their store built; we have mixed use, where a lot of people aren't going to need to take a car…
Buildings that could have been beautiful and enrich the city and the lives of tenants will end up being stack of containers to bypass government imposed minimum wage and endless regulations. No wonder why soviet union buildings looked like a bland block of concrete. If this is not a cautionary tale on the dangers of regulation, I don't know what is. Congrats to Costco for finding a trick and getting things done, desp…
How you're assuming that there is a difference in how it will "enrich the city and the lives of tenants" based on that render is beyond me.
You decry regulation in the same sentence you wish buildings were beautiful and life-enriching. You wildly overrate the style, comfort, and safety of stuff that gets built in countries without the sorts of regulations that the US has today.
So a compliant result that makes none of the involved parties truly happy and produces an outcome that no one would have ever asked for. California is very good at this.
So a compliant result that makes none of the involved parties truly happy and produces an outcome that no one would have ever asked for. California is very good at this.
The picture of modular housing isn't at all what this project is going to look like. Yes, prefab does add some constraints but you only produce a building that looks like a stack of shipping containers if that's what you want. And, is this development really so bad? There's a bunch of additional housing created; Costco gets their store built; we have mixed use, where a lot of people aren't going to need to take a car…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think the renders of the actual planned development look at all like a stack of containers. That heritage will show inside, though: there's probably not going to be any rooms that are really wide. But modern apartments tend to not have too many of those anyways.
I would imagine some rooms will be double-wide. more seriously, it seems mobile homes nowadays come in 14, 16 and 18' widths and 66 to 80' lengths. It seems shipping containers are 8' wide and usually 20, 40 and 45' long. I suspect there are ways to make multiples of these dimensions. I also wonder why you couldn't just take a truck and load it up with a stack of walls that are laid out with a crane.
I think this is bit misleading. Costco contracted with a builder for this particular store. If it works out, maybe they'll go with them for a second store, and then who knows? But it doesn't mean Costco has become a builder, and the conditions resulting in the store being built in this particular way are local to some parts of California.
It's the same with Home Depot. They don't "make" anything, they contract everything out (Home Depot-line tools, i.e. Ryobi, their flooring installations to some of the cheapest local installers, etc.).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And, is this development really so bad? It depends on how it's managed. If there _happens_ to be enough demand that people will accept it and pay a profitable rate, it might be just fine, but the cart is before the horse on this, so I wouldn't necessarily expect that outcome without other evidence to support it.
Even better if it's not profitable for Costco. That's like having business subsidize housing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The picture of modular housing isn't at all what this project is going to look like. Yes, prefab does add some constraints but you only produce a building that looks like a stack of shipping containers if that's what you want. And, is this development really so bad? There's a bunch of additional housing created; Costco gets their store built; we have mixed use, where a lot of people aren't going to need to take a car…
Buildings that could have been beautiful and enrich the city and the lives of tenants will end up being stack of containers to bypass government imposed minimum wage and endless regulations. No wonder why soviet union buildings looked like a bland block of concrete. If this is not a cautionary tale on the dangers of regulation, I don't know what is. Congrats to Costco for finding a trick and getting things done, desp…
Getting housing built is the purpose of the law; modular construction is a common way to build in urban California even where the builder isn't using this law, and still involves local labor (the modules don't assemble themselves) to which the prevailing wage requirement applies.
There's no trick here, they are doing exactly what the state government was trying to get done when it wrote the law bypassing local government power.
I'd be perfectly fine with modular homes if they were any cheaper than traditional construction, but they're not. It really makes no sense at all for anyone other than remote/rural builds.
What about the part where factory-constructed housing is more consistent and higher quality than site-constructed? If I ever build custom, I'd love to use prefab panels, at least.
That's kind of my point. Modular is mostly a design/aesthetic/quality choice for people who can afford it. You would think that the entire purpose would be affordability vs. onsite with the huge labor savings. But these things are so marked up it ends up being pointless in that regard.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Buildings that could have been beautiful and enrich the city and the lives of tenants will end up being stack of containers to bypass government imposed minimum wage and endless regulations. No wonder why soviet union buildings looked like a bland block of concrete. If this is not a cautionary tale on the dangers of regulation, I don't know what is. Congrats to Costco for finding a trick and getting things done, desp…
The rendering of the Costco plan looks no worse than the typical 5-on-1 that gets built all over LA and would have been built with traditional methods. How you're assuming that there is a difference in how it will "enrich the city and the lives of tenants" based on that render is beyond me. You decry regulation in the same sentence you wish buildings were beautiful and life-enriching. You wildly overrate the style, c…
Probably in part because modular construction isn't uncommon with those 5-over-1s, it's not some hack specific to this law; surprisingly enough, most projects can't get away with paying below the local prevailing wage whether or not there is a specific law requiring it, so if modular construction enables a net cost reduction where there is a prevailing cost regulation, it's going to be a net cost reduction for most similar construction without the regulation, too.