News

Green & Gray: Older adults seek homes easy on them and Earth
The Oregonian, Sunday, February 22, 2009
Full Article | Text Only

New housing development gets 'silver' celebration
The Lake Oswego Review, Feb 18, 2009

Silver is the new green
Boom! Northwest, December 2008

Portland Living Smart Program

Good Neighbors: Five likeable projects prove that not all teardowns warrant a crackdown
Builder Magazine, January 2008

Houses That Make History
Portland Spaces, January, 2008
Click through to 2004. Living Smart homes are immortalized in the history books of Portland housing!

"Smart, Sharp, Skinny and Sustainable"
Home Building News, September 2007, Portland Home Builders Association
High quality, small footprint is finally here in the detached residential infill market....read more.

Slim picks: New Living Smart homes give shape to Portland's goals for 'skinny-lot' design
Oregonian, July 8th 2007

Quality, Skinny In-fill on the Rise
KGW Channel 8, June 12, 2007

Developer Jack Wagnon gives shape to winning designs for skinny homes
Oregonian, February 17, 2007

Niche builder takes on marketing new urbanization concept
HBA Home Building News, January 2007

Skinny house contest designs put to test
Oregonian, October 4, 2006

Living Smart becomes reality for 2 Portland neighborhoods
Daily Journal of Commerce, September 19th 2006

Area Developer First to Break Ground on Living Smart
On Friday, September 15, 2006 Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard joined developer Jack Wagnon of The Wagnon Company to break ground on the first Living Smart homes at 8172 North Haven. The developer's residential construction arm, Prairie View Homes, LLC will build two award winning Higgins house designs - and will include a detached double-car garage with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at the back of each lot. Two Vargas house designs with the garage feature will also be built at 4936 SE Knapp Street by Prairie View Homes.

Above Image: Higgins North ground breaking. From left to right: Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard; Paul Scarlett, Director, Bureau of Development Services (BDS); architect and Living Smart contest winner Bryan Higgins; developer Jack Wagnon.

Media Advisories:
Area Developer First to Break Ground on Living Smart Narrow Lots
"Living Smart" Program featuring Award-Winning Narrow Lot Designs

Updates

Prairie View Homes, LLC Closes Oregon Operation
As of May, 2009, the Oregon corporation Prairie View Homes, LLC has ceased all Pacific Northwest operations in light of a struggling US economy and sagging home sales. Principals Jack and Lana Wagnon have relocated to the Midwest and are based out of Topeka, Kansas.

On January 8, 2010, Wagnon Company, LLC was incorporated in Kansas and will be managed solely by Jack Wagnon. WagCo will focus on single family and multifamily brokerage & development, as well as design/build custom homes doing business as Prairie View Homes. Visit www.wagnoncompany.com for more information on upcoming multifamily and single family projects in the Heartland!

Public/Private Collaboration Yields New Park Gateway & Sustainability Win
The City of West Linn, Wagnon Company and its consumer brand, Prairie View Homes, LLC have completed the City's first LEED for Homes certified project. The project, certified LEED Gold, required careful site planning for the creation of the Burnside Park gateway and sustainable solutions for storm water management. Read More.

Single National Green Building Standard Key for Builder-to-Consumer Accountability
Portland, OR - Prairie View Homes, LLC has announced its move to exclusively adopt the US Green Building Council's LEED for Homes residential green building standard. The Portland green builder sees the move to streamline support for one single national standards body as key to improving builder-to-consumer accountability and clarity with green, new-home marketing. Read More

Elegant Design for All of Life's Phases
Unique to Prairie View Homes, the Easy Access for Green Living™ design series provides the active adult home buyer forward-thinking features for all of life's stages. Universal Design such as stepless entry, stoopless appliance placement, open and accessible bathrooms and hallways and a home elevator benefit the Boomer buyer looking to extend their aging-in-place capability. Special attention is paid to built-in storage and space saving design for Buyers savvy about the not-so-big-house philosophy. Read More

Sustainable Courtyard Housing
Interdisciplinary Design Team Looks for New Angles on a Timeless Concept
Prairie View Homes and partners Ankrom Moisan Architecture and Alpha Community Development have undertaken a collaborative effort to design a sustainable, universally accessible inner city courtyard housing project. The fundamental premise of the design revolves around integration of a generational mix of seniors, families and active singles to create healthy neighborhoods. A range of home sizes and prices would be offered to allow for economic diversity within the courtyard community. High performance construction based on building science would ensure a healthy, comfortable, durable, energy efficient and environmentally responsible product. Read More