St. Paul first-time home buyers has award winning architect designing modular

<h1>St. Paul first-time home buyers has award winning architect designing modular</h1>

<p>St. Paul has a new modular housing project in Dayton Bluff, Minnesota. More than a dozen solar-powered houses are being designed by David Smell, an award-winning Duluth architect.</p>

<h2>Project details</h2>
<ul>
  <li>Location: Dayton Bluff, St. Paul, Minnesota.</li>
  <li>Developer: a St. Paul nonprofit.</li>
  <li>Designer: David Smell, an award-winning Duluth architect.</li>
  <li>Number of homes: more than a dozen.</li>
  <li>Type: modular, solar-powered houses.</li>
  <li>Sale price: less than $250,000 each.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The pricing is aimed at first-time homebuyers. Real estate broker Seanne Thomas said buyers have been waiting more than a year for a chance to buy a house in Village on Rivoli, one of the biggest single-family housing developments in St. Paul in decades.</p>

<h2>Market context</h2>
<ul>
  <li>The median sale price of a house in the Twin Cities has doubled to more than $300,000.</li>
  <li>Options for first-time buyers have declined over the past eight years.</li>
  <li>In February, only 556 homes priced from $190,000 to $250,000 were for sale in the Twin Cities metro area.</li>
  <li>That number was less than half of the prior year.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Construction approach</h2>
<p>Gary Findell, a Twin Cities general contractor, is leading the modular effort. He wants to reduce costs by building homes closer to the construction site. He also expects the project to help train a new generation of workers in a modular housing factory.</p>

<p>The project will use insulated panels with foam cores for floors, walls, and roofs. Findell said this should be more energy efficient and less expensive than wood-built walls. He said the homes will be built and assembled in a factory with precise measurements.</p>