The Norton Agency built two 512-square-foot concept homes in the Gainesville, Hall County area to help provide attainable housing to people in the community.
“We wanted to build a test in the county and have people walk through and understand the product, that it’s not this tiny home and not to be scared of 512-square-feet, it actually feels quite large,” Assistant Vice President of Property Management Emilie Norton Cisco said at an open house Thursday.
The Norton Agency’s bungalow concepts are located in the county directly behind its New Holland Studios off Spring Street in Gainesville. The agency was not able to build its bungalows in the city limits due to square-footage restrictions, she said.
The one-bedroom, one-bathroom homes were built with vaulted ceilings, windows in nearly every room, storage space, a full-size kitchen, stackable washer and dryer, a large front porch and luxury finishes.
“You don’t get any of the cheapness. We’re trying to build the best quality for what we can offer,” Cisco said.
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Hall County was $1,579 at last report, according to apartmentlist.com.
Norton’s free-standing bungalows are aimed to provide ‘attainable housing’ with a monthly rental price of $1,295 with some utilities included, Cisco said.
“We’re trying to build attainable housing that is cost effective for both us and a tenant that we can charge an attainable price, something that’s not going to be one of these sky-high rents,” she said. “We want to be able to provide quality living spaces for people who are out there working.”
The Norton Agency spent $130,000 out-of-pocket to build each of its bungalows. The agency was denied secured bank loans because it was such a new concept for the company; However, the agency's smaller design proved to be in high-demand as both homes were either leased or had an active application status prior to the end of its open house, Cisco said.
“You should see some in the future, but we’re not going to sacrifice some of our finishes for price. A lot of where the price comes from is what we can get the land for. That’s where your cost is,” Cisco said.
