If you’ve visited the modern-day hot spot of the midcentury, Palm Springs, California, you’ve likely thought of going outdoors and indoors in top-of-the-line architecture. Then you’ll see the price.
The city has seen an almost 50-per cent increase in the value of homes over the past five years, which has made owning a home almost impossible–until the present. With prices that start at $150,000, it is possible to own an area of the mid-mod mecca. Small home situated in a turnkey piece of land, with a dog park and pool included.
The idea came about due to Paul Kaplan, the realtor with an architectural degree who had the idea to modernize this mobile home community. The community typically provides land and amenities for palm springs modular homes but leaves residents wanting more in terms of quality and style.
Mobile park model
His idea was to use the mobile park model but improve the structure. He partnered with a homemaker and altered the plan to align with the modernist philosophy, which meant many changes were made. The decorative mouldings were eliminated, flat doors were made, and floor plans and rooflines were modified. The construction was also upgraded with insulation and 2-by-6-inch frames, making it appear more solid than the typical mobile home. Four models were designed with sizes ranging between 600 square feet and its “not-so-tiny” model of 1,100 square feet. However, unlike conventional, tiny home buyers aren’t required to worry about how they will manage.
Biggest challenges of a tiny home
“One of the biggest challenges of a tiny home or palm springs modular homes is figuring out where to put it,” says Paul Kaplan, the president of the Paul Kaplan Group. “With city zoning, regulations, and utility hookups, people in the high desert spend $100,000 before they even get to the design. That’s what’s ideal about a mobile home community is that it’s already zoned for use. “
Buyers choose and buy their desired model and then pay a monthly rental cost of $682.50 that includes not just facilities but also installation and delivery of the unit on the piers, utility hookups, and deck and awning installation. A fence and a carport are also available, giving residents the luxury of a single-family home with a garden. “For the same price, you can buy a condo, but it will have shared walls and not much outdoor space.”
Context of a mobile park
What about the stigma that comes with living in the context of a mobile park? “There is such a stereotype of people living in a mobile home community,” Kaplan says. Kaplan. “It’s tough for people to get over that. There are some bad mobile home communities in this country, but we’ve learned that people have bias until they see these and love them.”
A large part of this is due to its style. However, it’s mostly due to the folks. “We want to encourage a community feels with front porches, more social interaction,” Kaplan says. Kaplan. The designs were thoughtful in that there is no direct entry from the carport into the home, and residents have to walk around the porch to get inside.
“It helps to encourage social interaction with the neighborhood. We have seen it as working. Social groups gather over time in the decks and walk with each other or go with pets to parks. It’s hard to find such a thing in a traditional setting.” However, as you can imagine, Palm Canyon Mobile Club isn’t traditional.
Designs
The net-zero home is divided into two separate areas: the main suite is on one of the houses, as the children’s bedrooms and the den are opposite. The shared living areas, like the dining space and the kitchen, are situated between them, creating an unbreakable connection to the backyard patio. The living room of palm springs modular homes has a large “living platform” lines the wall as a huge daybed. The windows are completely open, creating a rectangular opening onto the patio. In the same way, the kitchen’s doors open to expand the dining area onto the concrete patio adjacent to the pool.
