How To Turn 7 Homes Into 28: The South Street Cottages Project
Some of the South Street Cottages. (Source: Google Maps.)
The South Street Cottages project in Fayetteville, Arkansas, began with the acknowledgment that reducing minimum lot sizes could unlock the potential for smaller, more affordable homes while meeting the needs of the community.
By working with the city to reduce minimum lot sizes, we were able to build 28 homes on a parcel that would have otherwise only accommodated seven. Each home sold quickly, with attainable total prices. Best of all, many of the buyers were young families, retirees and single professionals who might otherwise have been shut out of the housing market.
In 2016, I joined the Incremental Development Alliance and moved from renovating and flipping old houses on the side to tackling my first land and new construction development. In collaboration with forward-thinking city officials and planners, I identified a site that was well-suited for a pilot project: an oversized parcel in a walkable neighborhood close to public transit, schools and parks.
The existing zoning required minimum lot sizes of 10,000 square feet, which would have limited the number of homes we could build and driven up per-unit costs. I proposed rezoning the area to one of our town’s downtown zoning districts. This would allow for very small lot width minimums (18 feet) and no minimum lot sizes — a dramatic change, but one grounded in thoughtful design and community engagement.
To build community support, I held workshops and listening sessions with residents — the most popular was a pop-up petting zoo where after-school classes could pet goats and learn about civic engagement and the development process. We addressed neighbors' concerns face-to-face and emphasized the benefits of smaller lots, such as attracting first-time homebuyers and creating a neighborhood that feels cohesive and human-scaled.
Once the reduced lot sizes were approved, we set out to design homes that were both affordable and desirable. Being a hillside town meant that the site sloped significantly from the back corner to the street. As both an architect and a landscape architect, I designed this topography into terraces to create a series of small-lot single-family homes, some of which had garage apartments. I tucked a townhouse courtyard into the back and put a small, mixed-use building in the corner.
The smaller lots naturally lent themselves to compact, efficient designs for households of one or two people. The largest corner home had three bedrooms and a playroom. Each home was designed to maximize usable space, with open floor plans, high ceilings and plenty of natural light. By minimizing setbacks and carefully planning shared green spaces, we created a sense of community while maintaining privacy for individual homeowners.
We also prioritized sustainability. Smaller homes naturally mean lower utility bills. We also incorporated elements like high-performance insulation and native landscaping to further reduce environmental impact. These features not only appealed to buyers but also helped lower ongoing costs, making the homes even more accessible to residents on a budget.
I’ve slowly developed the street-facing houses in sets of three over the last eight years. These houses sit on lots as small as 1,500 square feet — a fraction of the lot minimum allowed under the previous zoning — and range in size from 500 square feet to 2,200 square feet. Two of them met federal affordability standards without subsidy. This affordability is directly achieved by their small size and small lot — the price per square foot is high for the neighborhood and has caused many older neighboring homes to appreciate in value in response.
Critically, these homes can be purchased outright with typical, federally backed 30-year mortgages because they’re on conforming, fee-simple platted lots. In many cases, where small lots are not allowed, developers resort to creating condominium regimes to achieve higher density. While condos can be a viable solution, they often come with added complexity: shared ownership structures, homeowners’ associations, and monthly fees that can be a barrier for some buyers.
So far, the project has been a resounding success. Continuous sidewalks shaded by native Overcup Oak street trees now connect neighbors. Front porches brought up to the street encourage neighborly interactions. Lush, carefully designed front gardens make the density of the neighborhood feel cozy and lovable.
Reducing minimum lot sizes isn’t just about making homes smaller — it’s about making affordable housing a reality for all.
Learn how to bring more housing to your city. “The Housing-Ready City: A Toolkit for Local Code Reform” presents six code reforms that local officials can implement today with the authority they already have. It explains how to implement these reforms and provides real examples of places that have already done so.
Want to go even deeper? Sign up for the spring session of the Accelerator to get coaching from Strong Towns experts. Discuss approaches with other professionals and develop a plan to make your community housing ready.
Alli Thurmond Quinlan is an architect, landscape architect and small infill developer. She is also the acting director of the Incremental Development Alliance.
