Building tiny permanent homes in Loudoun County, Virginia could be part of the solution in creating affordable housing in the county, which is perpetually dubbed the wealthiest county in the United States based on median household income.
Building tiny permanent homes in Loudoun County could be part of the solution in creating affordable housing in the Virginia county, which is perpetually dubbed the wealthiest county in the U.S., based on median household income.
Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors will be briefed Tuesday on a feasibility study it commissioned, which was prepared by the county’s Affordable Dwelling Unit Advisory Board, or ADUAB.
The report, included in the supervisors’ agenda documents, concludes “tiny houses could be a helpful tool as part of the county’s housing toolbox to address homelessness and housing needs.”
“Tiny homes” do not have a universal definition, but usually fall into two categories: mobile tiny homes, on wheels, and permanent tiny homes, with a fixed foundation.
Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall has said since the homes on wheels are considered “mobile homes,” they will not be considered in the feasibility study.
In addition, Randall has said tiny homes will not be considered within Loudoun County’s Rural Policy Area, which covers about 230,000 acres — 67% of the county — according to the county.
According to the advisory board’s study, permanent tiny homes can “be modular or manufactured, shipping containers, 3D printed, or custom-built structures.” The permanent homes can range from 80 square feet to 800 square feet, but are typically less than 600 square feet — some even have lofts or second stories.
To understand what could be possible in terms of creating a tiny homes community in Loudoun County, the committee studied a recent affordable housing partnership between the county and Enterprise Community Development, a housing nonprofit.
The partnership involves the former Ashburn North Park and Ride, located on Russell Branch Parkway. According to the study, that land is under contract, and development is actively being planned; it was only used to illustrate the concept.
The feasibility study envisions creating 131 affordable rental units on the 4.86-acre parcel, and eight ownership units.
The study offers four options to show different densities and layouts of the community, ranging from 57 units to 84 units, each measuring 416 square feet.
“If this size and type of lot were made available for tiny home community, ADUAB estimates that 40 to 50 homes would need to be developed, if not more, for the project to be financially feasible,” according to the report.
If the county wanted to focus on homeownership, rather than rentals, “Using the park and ride agreement and development proposal as a model, and assuming a cost to build and make improvements of $125,000 per unit, with a $1 million ground lease payment, the development of 45 tiny homes for homeownership could cost approximately $6.7 million. The cost as proposed for the eight homeownership units for the park and ride development is $4.5 million,” according to the study.
According to county staff, in 2025, the average sales price for a one-bedroom unit in Loudoun County is $348,650, while a two-bedroom unit costs $464,335.
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