Project Team
- Laura Carr, Co-founder, NPDC, and Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture, College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA)
- Greg Veitch, Project Manager, NPDC, and Adjunct Lecturer, School of Architecture, CAPLA
- Daniel Vega, MArch student, CAPLA
- Robyn Nelson, BArch student, CAPLA
- Souhayla Farag, BArch student, CAPLA
Community Partners
- Tod Bowden, President, Community Homes of Patagonia (CHOP)
- Elvia Gallaher, Program Manager, CHOP
- Ron Robinson, Town Manager, Town of Patagonia
- Julia Smith, Affordable Housing Consultant
- CHOP Board of Directors
Project Details
Project Overview
Community Homes of Patagonia (CHOP) is a community based organization that aims to support the diversity and vibrancy of the Town of Patagonia, Arizona and its vicinity by providing quality, affordable housing opportunities to low and moderate income people. Patagonia is located in Santa Cruz county, the lowest economic county in the State of Arizona. Many of its residents are generational low income.
In 2024, CHOP worked with NPDC to design six homes on a half acre of land called 'Gopher Field' in the center of the Town of Patagonia. NPDC worked to ensure affordability, equity, and quality in the housing designs through designing with modular construction systems, capitalizing on local expertise, and using an asset-based design methodology, which uses project assets as design tools.
By designing one, two, and three bedroom homes around a modular construction strategy, CHOP will be able to build the homes for less cost, which will transfer to a more affordable purchase price for the residents. The home designs carefully consider material durability and operating cost, two elements of the project that will have a significant effect on the long-term affordability and sustainability of this housing project. Passive design strategies that effectively utilize the site's sun, wind, and water resources keep the cost of ownership low while creating financial and social equity through increased quality of life.
These homes will be designed to attract people who have grown up or lived in Patagonia and want to stay here, as well as local teachers, Town employees, and other members of the local workforce who cannot afford to live where they work.
The homes will be held and managed under a community land trust, which aims to keep home ownership permanently affordable through collectively held land, and aims to build financial equity through allowing residents to purchase the homes. Unlike subsidized affordable housing models, community land trusts can help end generational poverty and create social equity in high-quality and desirable communities.
Project Gallery
Click image to view larger size and begin slideshow:
