Dive Brief:

• The Citizens Bank Tiny House Experiment in Cleveland, launched to find out the demand for pint-sized homes in the area, is underway with two 583-square-foot houses, according to WKYC.
• The two-home project is backed by a $140,000 donation from Citizens Bank and features sustainable design and green features. Contractor Sutton Builders said each home has all the features of a standard size home including a laundry room, full bathroom, kitchen, porch and yard.
• The project’s zoning and planning were approved, and construction is expected to begin this spring with completion in June. Sutton Builders will sell one home, and the neighborhood association — the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization — will retain the second house to use for tours and short stays for those interested in trying out the tiny house lifestyle.

Dive Insight:

"Citizens Bank is excited to be part of this effort toward exploring the benefits of tiny house living," Joe DiRocco, President of Citizens Bank, Ohio, told WKYC. "The Tiny House experiment follows a growing movement across the nation in which people are downsizing to smaller, simplified, sustainable living often at a fraction of what typical homes can cost to own and maintain."

The houses will be built on one standard lot within the "EcoVillage" section of Cleveland’s Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. The EcoVillage focuses on environmentally friendly practices like public transportation, sustainable construction and urban agriculture.

The popularity of tiny houses is sweeping the U.S., both as a way of living off the grid, but also as a possible housing solution for urban homebuyers who can’t afford, or don’t want, a larger, more expensive home.

However, despite a great deal of enthusiasm from some for tiny houses, the trend hasn’t yet caught on with major homebuilding companies. Some industry experts attributed this to what they call "the lemming mentality" of big builders to wait for one to wade in first. Mattamy Homes COO Brian Johnston told Construction Dive in November that building vertically is cheaper and 100% ground level construction is not a very efficient use of land.