- The AARP of Nebraska hopes ADUs, or small homes on the same lot as a primary home, become more common to address a shortage of senior housing.
- A contest was held to encourage designs of age-friendly ADUs that could get pre-approved by the City of Omaha.
- Providing that missing housing type would help free up housing for other groups too, the AARP of Nebraska says.
Learn more (from Monday): Omaha looking to remove barriers to building ADUs, or small backyard homes
Below is a transcript of the on-air broadcast:
There’s a shortage of affordable housing and part of the city’s action plan for tackling that issue is encouraging more density in already developed areas like this one in Blackstone.
I’m Aaron Hegarty with 3 News Now. That’s possible with auxiliary dwelling units, or second small homes on the same lot. And they’re being looked at an especially promising housing option for seniors.
Earlier this week we showed you this this backyard project near 60th and Pierce: Turning a garage into a small home.
Andrea Macias wants her mom to have her own place during her long visits from Colombia.
“My mom is not getting younger,” she said. “And she’s back there by herself. Of course every time she comes I want her as close as I can.”
Using ADUs as homes for seniors, with a caretaker close by, is something the AARP of Nebraska is encouraging.
“We don’t think ADUs are going to solve the housing crisis we have in Omaha,” said Todd Stubbendieck, the director of the AARP of Nebraska. “But it is a family friendly, age friendly solution.”
Todd Stubbendieck is the director of AARP Nebraska. He says it’s a good option for those not ready to go to an assisted living home, but might not be best suited where they are, either, like his mom.
“She still lives in the large single family home where she raised our family,” he said. “And she’s now a widow. She’s got nowhere else to go besides assisted living. There needs to be something between the large single family home and assisted living that is age friendly.”
He says that would free up the single family homes, too.
The AARP recently held a contest to design age-friendly ADUs. I sat down with the winners to see what they came up with: Including raised garden beds, cabinet storage at appropriate levels and no steps.
“26% of us adults report having a disability and there’s 6% of U.S. housing that’s considered accessible,” said Meghan Walls, the founder of Assistology.
Meghan Walls, the founder of Assistology, focusing on ability-friendly design practices, won the contest, along with Daniel Conaway, an architect at Alley Poyner Macchietto in Omaha.
Homes designed like this don’t need to be used by people with disabilities, but they can be. The idea is universal design as one things to help make more affordable housing.
“I think it’s a start,” Walls said. “I think the real win would be when builders and developers start using it.”
Omaha is looking to pre-approve some ADU designs, so they’d be easier to build if you decide you want one. The three winners of this contest will have an opportunity to get on that list.
In Blackstone, Aaron Hegarty, 3 News Now.
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