Workforce 16 project aims to bring affordable housing for essential workers to Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Architect students and staff at the University of Arkansas are taking action to help essential workers in Fayetteville find affordable housing through the Workforce 16 project.
“I think it’s just really eye-opening, searching for housing here,” said Mary Beth Barr an Urban Design Build Studio fellow for the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.
She says looking for a place to live in Fayetteville has given her a new perspective on finding affordable housing.
“It’s one thing to run through it from a hypothetical perspective as a student versus graduating and actually being in that position and understanding what it takes to pay bills,” said Barr.
As a student, she did research on Workforce 16, a project aiming to bring more affordable housing for essential workers earning $16 to $18 an hour to Fayetteville.
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“People want to see their kids playing in the backyard from the kitchen, like just understanding how people live and hearing from stakeholders about their experience with people in the community,” said Barr.
“This is a mock-up for the work for 16 home prototypes and it allows us to test all the materials,” said John Folan, department head for the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and UDBS Home Lab.
He says a key factor for affordability, is the head material used.
“It incorporates a new timber technology which is wave layer timber. And so we’re testing out all of the ways that we put that together,” said Folan.
According to realtor.com, the median price per square foot for a home in Fayetteville is $215. Folan says the goal of the project is to create original house layouts of 1200 square feet and $186 per square foot.
“Affordable housing and attainable housing are not made available. That population is likely to leave the region,” said Folan.
Folan says this project helps fulfill the university’s land grant mission to serve residents and give back to the community. That’s a mission Barr says she is glad to be a part of.
“It was really exciting as a student and then for me now as a recent graduate to be a part of such an impactful project, but also a real project,” said Barr.
Folan says the goal is to build three permanent houses by late 2024.
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