Clever Factory and Homeplex - The Future of Modular Housing
Overview
HomePlex and CCEDA sponsored a one-day trip to the Clever Factory in Ensenada, Mexico on May 14th to see how the modular units could support affordable housing development in California. Jonathan Palley, the CEO of Clever Factory, Ari Gati CEO of HomePlex, Jose Sabala and Doni Tadese represented the CCEDA board on the tour, plus an additional seven practitioners from Los Angeles and San Diego.
Background on Clever Factory
Clever Factory is three years old and has the capacity to design and build between 150 to 200 units a year. The strengths of Clever Factory include a well-trained workforce, stringent quality assurances, buildings designed to meet California Building Codes, effective supply chain, and ability to build a dwelling in between 25 to 30 days, significantly reducing the cost due to delays. Units are built to order, and the factory can build 25 units at a time. The finished units can be shipped quickly by truck to locations throughout California.
Implication for Community Development
Clever has some interesting modular designs that could serve as infill housing (between 2 to 4 units with up to 10 bedrooms). HomePlex is doing a demonstration in San Luis Obispo. This could be an interesting infill model for other communities. Significant cost savings can occur due to requiring less land, a 4-to-6-month completion process that includes permitting, siting, plumbing, etc. A particular target could be faith-based organizations.
Partnership
The potential partnership would include Clever, HomePlex, CCEDA, and local CCEDA members. This team is crucial to the development of an innovative new initiative. We would start with some initial demonstration projects in diverse locations throughout California.
Visiting the Factory
We are encouraging CCEDA members and other community development practitioners who are interested in modular design and infill housing to visit Clever Factory. HomePlex and Clever are sponsoring free tours on a quarterly basis to CCEDA members and other community-based development organizations. These tours depart from Old Town in San Diego around 9 a.m. and return between 7 to 8 p.m.
For further information, contact Bob Zdenek, Interim Executive Director of CCEDA at bob@cceda.com or (908) 499-8505.