ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The city of Rogers approved to sell city-owned land to the Northwest Arkansas Council’s subgroup “Groundwork” to develop and produce a 3D-printed home.
This will be the first 3D-printed home in the state of Arkansas and the first two-story printed homes in the entire country according to Duke McLarty, executive director of Groundwork Workforce Housing for Northwest Arkansas.
He says there’s going to be a lot of people who are learning a lot through this process.
“With the goal that if a developer identifies cost savings through using 3D printed concrete as opposed to a normal just lumber approach, a lot of the barriers and potential constraints of that construction will have already been identified and worked out through our demonstration process,” McLarty said.
McLarty says Groundwork is the business community’s response to affordability. They are trying to raise awareness and work with municipalities, cities, and major employers and identify roles that each of them can play to try to bring some level of affordability back to the region.
“We think about it a lot as bringing some level of affordability back to each community in our region, because right now, many communities are not affordable for much of our population,” he said.
McLarty says the site is designed for four or five duplexes that are two stories located on 920 South 1st Street in Rogers.
He says he chose this location because it was close to downtown Rogers.
“They each have their own appeal, but many of them are no longer affordable for a lot of people in our region.”
There is also a bike path in front of the land, which McLarty sees as a huge advantage.
“People who work in the downtown Rogers Restaurants and bars and coffee shops and retail establishments could easily live in one of these and get to and from work on a bicycle and really would lessen their reliance on an automobile,” McLarty said.
Stormie Kuth is a renter in Downtown Rogers and she says ‘for something new like this to come in would be amazing.’
She says she would like to be a homeowner one day but renting might be her reality for the rest of her life because of unaffordable housing.
Kuth says she is happy that there will be more affordable housing in the area because it is an issue.
“I’m lucky that I am paying what I am paying. But I know a lot of people are struggling right now,” Kuth said.
She says she’s heard stories of local children having to stop going to school in the area and move into rural areas instead because it was more affordable for their families.
“Which is absolutely terrible and traumatizing,” she said.
Kuth says she would consider living in a 3D printed home but it would depend on the affordability and sustainability of it.
3D-printed homes have electrical and plumbing installed similarly to a traditional home but there are some differences.
McLarty says “So instead of, you know, lumber and drywall or a printer comes on site, it has a robot arm and it layers concrete to build these walls.”
He continues saying once the concrete dries, drywall can be put on the inside.
“It would feel and look no different than most homes that we’re used to in northwest Arkansas. It can be painted, it can be, you know, a typical and normal roof can be put on it,” he said.
He says 3D printed homes take a lot less manpower, less time to construct, and can be more affordable than traditional homes.
“They’re much stronger, you know, to say, extreme weather events, tornadoes, hurricanes. They’re also much more energy efficient; they’re just a tighter seal, so they’re not as drafty. Studies have shown them to be as much as 30% more energy efficient,” he said.
They’re also more fire-resistant than a wood-built home and don’t rot.
McLarty says, “I think it’s likely to catch on in the US and I’m doing my best to prepare at least our region to be in a good place, when that happens, we’re in a good place to capitalize.”
3D-printed homes are a little cooler than traditional homes and have echoes.
“I think folks will find ways to put rugs down and things like that to kind of dampen echoes, but I’m excited about it as well,” McLarty said.
He says their goal is to have eight to ten families who couldn’t afford to live in Rogers, call it home one day.
Their second goal is to get the development community, municipal community, real estate community, fire inspectors, and building inspectors comfortable with this new approach.
“So that when the next developer comes in and wants to use 3D printed concrete, all of those entities say, “No problem, we know what this is. You know, we’ve experienced it. We’ve seen it print. We’ve been on-site when electrical was being run through the wires,” he said.
He hopes this will give developers another tool to expedite development and keep growth going in Northwest Arkansas.
He says the sale price of the home is unknown but they are currently working on trying to find a builder to build the duplexes and they’re expecting some bids back in the upcoming weeks.
But they are targeting someone that makes around 80% of the area’s median income which is about $75,000 or $80,000 a year.
McLarty says, “We will income verify them to ensure that that the end product is going to the family that really needs it and it’s not someone who just thinks it’s cool and you know likes the location and likes the design it will have a mission focused buyer in the end.”
McLarty says they’re also narrowing in on a developer and finalizing their land purchase from the city of Rogers.
“There are a few things on the site that need to be done that we were hesitant to do until we had ownership of that land,” he said.
He says this project should be underway in late spring or summer with dirt work, roads, parking spots, and then the homes.
He hopes everything will be completely finished by the end of the year or early 2025.
McLarty says, “I mean that’s one of the advantages of using this approach is once, you know, kind of the plumbing and the underground work is in place, the robot can show up and they can print a 2000 square foot home in 36 hours or so with as few as two people.”
There will be an opportunity for the public to come by, look inside the walls, and get comfortable with this approach.
“I think some residents, if asked, do you want a traditionally built home or a 3D printed home, they might, you know, just opt for the traditionally built home because they don’t know. This will give them an opportunity,” he said.
Kuth says she thanks the city of Rogers for doing this and hopes surrounding areas and towns would follow their lead.
“Especially in lower-income towns, like Lowell especially,” she said.