The Rise of Houghton and the Need for Housing Solutions
Houghton, MI, is enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to remote work and a love for outdoor recreation. The Upper Peninsula’s branding strategy now emphasizes quality of life and natural assets. The region is in dire need of more housing – but what about taller buildings?
Longyear’s Forestville Project: A Grounded Approach to Housing
Longyear’s Forestville project has a “grounded” approach, planning to build around 230 homes, all while preserving precious green spaces. If green spaces are the attraction, why sprawl out when you can build up? 230 homes require approximately 1.15M SF of land.
Discovering the Vertical Potential: Parking Lots, FAR, and Efficient Living
Exploring Houghton’s commercial area, we found 275,000 SF of parking lots. With an FAR of 6, we could create 1,187 units. The same number of homes on 5K SF lots would need 6M SF of land. Building up can offer breathtaking views and optimize efficiency.
Story credit: Lindsay Moore and Michigan Live
