Slim picks: New Living Smart homes give shape to Portland's goals for 'skinny-lot' design

When Prairie View Homes broke ground on side-by-side townhomes on 25-foot-wide lots in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood last fall, to neighbors it might have looked like a familiar scene -- another pair of bland-looking, low-budget skinny houses squeezed into the space of one older home.

Now listed for $319,000 each, the completed three-bedroom, 2.5-bath townhomes at 4928 and 4932 S.E. Knapp St. tell a different story.

Tall and narrow yet graceful, the two-level homes feature traditional wood construction, with board-and-batten siding, a shed roof facing the street and cedar shades over recessed windows. The front door is set back from the street under a covered entry.

Renewable materials and energy-efficient features are used throughout the homes, and their southern orientation romotes passive solar collection, with dozens of windows streaming natural light into 1,516 square feet of living space.

"Look at this thing -- this is just the coolest house on a 25-by-100-foot lot in Portland," said Jack Wagnon, owner of Prairie View Homes.

That's not just a builder's pride talking. The Knapp Street homes were the first on the market to be built using a permit-ready plan offered to the public through Living Smart, a new city of Portland program started to improve the design of the growing number of "skinny-lot" houses.

So far, there are are two Living Smart plans to choose from -- one by local architect Bryan Higgins; the other designed by Roxana Vargas Greenan and Trent Greenan of Berkeley, Calif.

Living Smart homes in the Vargas design are now under construction in several Portland neighborhoods. In addition to the Knapp Street homes, Wagnon is building a Living Smart home near Hawthorne Boulevard in Southeast Portland.

Builder Randy Palazzo has four Living Smart homes nearing completion in North and Northeast Portland that will be for sale starting in August.

Rethinking infill

At the Eastmoreland site, Wagnon is planning a four-home development called Vargas Commons that will include the two detached Living Smart townhomes, as well as a pair of attached houses in a complementary design on an adjacent lot.

Prairie View Homes, founded two years ago by Wagnon and his wife, Lana, builds infill properties exclusively. He said he was excited about the Living Smart program from the beginning because it appealed to his passions for affordable green construction and urban design.

"There's a stigma associated with infill, the stigma of the skinny lot -- unappealing, unattractive -- and because we are new urbanists, if you will, by philosophy, and sustainable developers, we want to try to reuse the under-utilized landscape," Wagnon said. "We wanted to do something that would really have an impact."

With its recessed windows and exposed-cedar accents, the Vargas plan has the design aesthetic of a San Francisco Bay-area townhome, said Wagnon.

Inside, a soaring great room open to the second level creates a gathering area broadened by ample use of glass -- in all, there are 42 windows in the house. The three upstairs bedrooms are modestly sized, reflecting the plan's focus on the central space, Wagnon said. "These plans are wonderful for (people who) like to spend time together," he said.

Exterior elements are set by the Living Smart program, but builders have flexibility with the interior space. Wagnon opted for an unembellished look, highlighted by red-oak hardwood floors and Shaker-style cabinets.

The homes are Earth Advantage- and Energy Star-certified, with energy-saving features such as low-emissivity Milgard windows and an indoor-air recirculation system.

Audio, video, security, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems will be managed with smart home technology -- a hallmark of homes by Wagnon, who worked for 10 years in the high-tech industry before becoming a home builder.

Low-impact living

A desire for a lower-impact lifestyle played a key part in Stephen and Sarah Schwarz's decision to contract with Wagnon to build a Living Smart home in the Vargas plan on a lot they purchased near Southeast 43rd Avenue and Clay Street.

The professional couple, who have children ages 2 and 4, have already sold the family minivan in anticipation of their fall move to the walkable Hawthorne Boulevard-area neighborhood, where they can get by with one car, Stephen Schwarz said.

With its small footprint, affordable green construction and cool aesthetic, the Living Smart plan seemed a good fit for their urban lifestyle, he said. Plus, "the idea of having something new and a little bit fresh appeals to us."

Next door at 1615 S.E. 43rd St., Wagnon is building another Vargas townhome. Expected to be move-in ready by fall, that house is listed for $425,000 with Builders Realty Group.

While Schwarz and others are anxious for the city to add a contemporary plan to its Living Smart line-up, the more traditional look of the Vargas and Higgins plans is largely what attracted builder Randy Palazzo to the city program.

Since the 1980s, Palazzo said, he has renovated more than 500 houses in North, Northeast and Southeast Portland, and for the past five years he has also been building new-construction homes in those areas on infill lots.

"That's kind of why I'm interested in the older charm of the neighborhoods, because I've rehabbed so many older homes," Palazzo said. "When I started building new construction, I decided to make sure I continue with the same character of the existing neighborhoods."

In keeping with that philosophy, the four Vargas-designed homes that Palazzo is building in North and Northeast Portland will feature finishes inspired by the early 1900s, including crown and dentil moldings, 4-inch window trim and Shaker-style kitchen cabinets.

The first completed, at 4910 N.E. 34th St., is listed for $399,900 with Fred Mannila and Scott Besaw with Keller Williams Realty. It will be held open on Sunday, July 8, from 1 to 4 p.m.

The Earth Advantage-certified Palazzo homes will also have granite counters, bamboo floors, and a few other modern twists -- such as the fenced backyard at 2914 N. Baldwin St. that will include a postage-stamp-sized meditation garden with bamboo plants, a water feature and tall poplar trees for privacy.

"It's a good-looking house," Palazzo said of the Vargas design, and for Portland neighborhoods, that may be the best feature of all.

Resources

Jack Wagnon, Prairie View Homes; 503-699-5409; www.prairieviewhomes.net

Randy Palazzo, Palazzo Custom Homes, 211 N.E. Weidler St.; 503-789-0108; e-mail pdxinvest@aol.com

Scott Besaw and Fred Mannila, Keller Williams Realty, 9200 S.E. Sunnybrook Blvd.,Suite 450, Clackamas; 503-730-7736; www.kw.com

Living Smart, 1900 S.W. Fourth Ave., Suite 5000; 503-823-4000; www.livingsmartpdx.com

Roxana Vargas-Greenan and Trent Greenan, Vargas Greenan Architecture Civic Design, 2417 Sacramento St., Berkeley, Calif.; 510-549-1913; www.vargasgreenan.com

Bryan Higgins, 21 S.W. Whitaker St.; 503-226-3197; e-mail higgins1000@msn.com

E-mail staff writer Kara Cogswell at karacogswell@news.oregonian.com.

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