1 of 3
Photography courtesy of Mini Mansions Tiny Home Builders LLC / Emily Mitchell
2 of 3
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MINI MANSIONS TINY HOME BUILDERS LLC / EMILY MITCHELL
3 of 3
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MINI MANSIONS TINY HOME BUILDERS LLC / EMILY MITCHELL
Like many real estate professionals, Mark and Emily Mitchell took a significant hit to their finances in 2008 during the housing market crash. So they sold their Wentzville ranch and moved into an 800-square-foot “mini mansion” in St. Peters.
Today, the couple contracts and builds tiny homes of 160 to 300 square feet. “Younger people, around their thirties, are wanting to simplify their lives so they can spend time and money on what’s more important rather than drowning in debt,” says Mark, co-owner of Mini Mansions Tiny Home Builders.
Another affordable alternative: micro-apartments, a trend taking hold in densely populated areas. Often just a couple hundred square feet, the apartments are both cost- and environment-friendly. Such apartments could soon become a reality here. In Clayton, Stewart, Schaberg & Turner Architects has designed plans for the proposed Solire Apartments, a 72-unit building with some spaces less than 400 square feet. Farther east, developer Bob Saur has proposed a 160-unit micro-apartment building at Euclid and Delmar.
Co-op living provides another option. It typically involves a home or multi-unit apartment building with “shareholders,” residents who each have a stake in the home or building. Art House, for example, located in the Greater Ville neighborhood in North City, is a housing cooperative for artists and activists.
“A lot of people would like to live simple,” says Mark, “and a big reason why they don’t is, they’re afraid of what others are going to think.”
