Historic adobe in SLO could be site for 20 affordable tiny homes. Here’s a sneak peek

John Lynch
Updated ·6 min read
6

San Luis Obispo County housing activists, builders and donors got a chance to see a proposed affordable housing project in person Wednesday at an event hosted by Smart Share Housing Solutions.

Behind the San Luis Obispo Guild Hall at 2880 Broad St., Smart Share gathered its supporters to tour a model tiny home the housing supplier is looking to include in a new affordable housing project known as Waterman Village.

Waterman Village, a joint affordable housing project between Smart Share and the city of San Luis Obispo, would turn Rosa Butron de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.

Anne Wyatt, executive director of Smart Share, said the tiny home layout was chosen for the project to work around the specific stipulations of the property’s most recent private owner.

The adobe was last owned as a residential property by Mary Gail Black, Wyatt said, who donated the property to the city in the late 1980s under the stipulation the property be restored for public use and the trees onsite preserved.

Black’s last stipulation was that a project for public use on the property would be named after her late partner, Mildred Waterman, Wyatt said.

Wyatt said the property was restored and maintained for more than 30 years, but the city is only now taking steps toward Black’s vision for the space.

“As we’ve gotten more into this tiny house movement, for the first time, that’s opened up the opportunity to accommodate the housing safely amongst the trees,” Wyatt told The Tribune. “That’s a huge component of this that kind of has been missing before.”

Smart Share Housing Solutions executive director Anne Wyatt speaks to visitors in the model tiny home at the Waterman Village project, which would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.
Smart Share Housing Solutions executive director Anne Wyatt speaks to visitors in the model tiny home at the Waterman Village project, which would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.

Model demonstrates benefits of tiny home village

Though the model that guests were invited to tour Wednesday is not the exact design that will be used at Waterman Village, Wyatt said it’s a close comparison to the 20 planned units.

The model was constructed by Pacifica Tiny Homes and cost just shy of $73,500, Wyatt said.

“This demo model is a representative interior, but not representative exterior of Waterman houses,” Wyatt said.

For example, the Waterman Village unit dimensions will be similar in size but will forgo the second-story loft, which would be difficult for senior residents to access.

Anne Wyatt, executive director of Smart Share Housing Solutions, points to an electric appliance in the model tiny home at the Waterman Village project, which would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.
Anne Wyatt, executive director of Smart Share Housing Solutions, points to an electric appliance in the model tiny home at the Waterman Village project, which would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.

The home features several “off-the-grid” systems, such as a solar power system that feeds an onsite battery, all-electric appliances and a waterless toilet, which would allow the homes to stay off the sewer system, Wyatt said.

The layout of the project rings the adobe building with the 20 units. Four of the units are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and feature slightly larger floor plans and access ramps.

The adobe building would be maintained and used as a communal space for residents, Wyatt said.

The Waterman Village project calls for turning the Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.
The Waterman Village project calls for turning the Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.

By designating these tiny homes as affordable housing, Wyatt said Smart Share hopes to avoid one of the main problems with tiny home adoption: price.

“In the small house world, we’re seeing a lot of uptake of installation of (accessory dwelling units),” Wyatt said. “It’s really tricky still — we’re not seeing a lot of uptake for low-income homeowners because there’s a ton of risk involved.”

These homes will be restricted to low- and very low income individuals and seniors, Wyatt said, a demographic that will only grow in coming years.

Smart Share’s efforts in senior housing and home sharing have found a rising population of single seniors — particularly single senior women — in San Luis Obispo County, and Wyatt said that number could double in the next 20 years.

With Social Security benefits often failing to keep with high costs of living in here and people living longer on average, Wyatt said that could mean a housing crunch for seniors in the area.

Projects like Waterman Village could help alleviate those issues, Wyatt said, because small unit sizes are perfect for housing “elder orphans,” a growing category of seniors without family members who can provide support.

Smart Share Housing Solutions staff and volunteers speak to visitors at Wednesday’s demonstration of a model tiny home at the Waterman Village project, which would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.
Smart Share Housing Solutions staff and volunteers speak to visitors at Wednesday’s demonstration of a model tiny home at the Waterman Village project, which would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.

Project off to a good start, but needs funding

Waterman Village has a ways to go before it can start welcoming residents, Wyatt said, as the final supplier of the homes and funding to build has not been secured yet.

Wyatt said funding is one of the bigger obstacles the project is facing since Smart Share responded to the city’s request for proposals three years ago.

So far, the project has secured around $850,000 in donations and pledges from more than 200 donors, and is approaching the initial fundraising goal of $1 million.

However, Wyatt said the project could cost as much as $6 million.

“It’s a little chicken and egg — we have to make sure we can secure some funding before we can get into a project, but we need to have an approved project before we can have any idea of the cost and just how much funding we’re going to need,” Wyatt said.

Wyatt said she hopes to tap into San Luis Obispo’s inclusionary housing funds, private foundation funding and county American Rescue Plan Act funding to make up the deficit, and may take out loans to round out the rest of the funding.

Because affordable rents could be as high as $1,300 or $1,400 by the time the project is completed, that source of income could also be used to pay off debt service.

The tiny homes in the proposed Waterman Village project would be outfitted with all-electric, off-grid appliances. Smart Share Housing Solutions’ Waterman Village project would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.
The tiny homes in the proposed Waterman Village project would be outfitted with all-electric, off-grid appliances. Smart Share Housing Solutions’ Waterman Village project would would turn Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.

Next, Smart Share must complete its application with the city, followed by public hearings to secure entitlements, Wyatt said.

Terri Main, construction lead of the Waterman Village project and CEO of San Luis Obispo-based construction company The Main Company, said Wyatt’s goal of opening Waterman Village to residents in late 2024 or early 2025 is “achievable” but will need all the dominoes in the building process to fall as planned.

Obstacles such as parking studies and a historic resource evaluation from the city must be completed before plans can proceed, Main said.

“We need people to get on board, we need community support, (and) we need the support of City Council members,” Main told The Tribune.

One of those council members was in attendance at the Wednesday event.

San Luis Obispo City Councilmember Michelle Shoresman tours a model tiny home hosted by Smart Share Housing Solutions at the Waterman Village project, which calls for turning the Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.
San Luis Obispo City Councilmember Michelle Shoresman tours a model tiny home hosted by Smart Share Housing Solutions at the Waterman Village project, which calls for turning the Rosa Burton de Canet Adobe, a historic property on Dana Street near the San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum, into 20 units of affordable tiny homes.

City Councilmember Michelle Shoresman said she could envision herself living in a tiny home like the model Smart Share presented, and she looks forward to seeing the project make its way through the various approval and committee processes.

“We know that we need more housing in this city, and we also know that the household size is slowly getting smaller,” Shoresman told The Tribune. “This seems like one of hopefully many possible options.”