People tend to think that affordability and sustainability are at odds with each other. Even new market-rate homes fall far short on sustainability metrics. Yet for Oregon architect turned developer Dylan Lamer, he is willing to show the way.
Dylan Lamar is the principal of Cultivate, a dynamic firm out of Eugene, Oregon that does both development and architectural design. With a background as a Passive House Consultant, Dylan made a leap that many architects only dream of: being the client and stepping into the role of the developer.
Eliminating the demands of outside clients is not the driving desire behind Dylan’s drive however. Nor does it seem like Dylan is looking to reduce the complexity around the development process since his work aims at an area of the industry that is sorely short of solutions: affordable, sustainable homes.
On this episode of The Regenerative Real Estate Podcast, Dylan talks about the C Street Co-op in Springfield, Oregon and how he was able to collaborate with SquareOne Villages to deliver high performance homes for only $10,000 down and $800 per month. To do this, the solution lied in the partnership and a combination of two distinct models—cooperative ownership + community land trust.
The result is a solution that both for-profit and non-profit developers should take note of and learn from. Be sure to visit Cultivate’s website as a more detailed project description including the financial details of the pro forma are available.
