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If you go:

2012 Build Small / Live Large housing summit

When: Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Where: Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Student Union, 1825 S.W. Broadway

Cost: $95 for general registration; $70 for Cascadia Green Building Council members and people participating in the EcoDistricts summit; $35 for students.

More information: .

 

Jenelle Isaacson, the owner of , sees an opportunity in the Portland housing market.

She sees it every time her company’s 40-some agents gather around the table to discuss recent real estate activity. Each agent, she said, is working with at least six active buyers looking for something they can’t find 鈥� small, smart and community-oriented spaces in the urban core.

As the housing market recovers, Isaacson and other industry professionals see big prospects for small-scale urban developments. But while strides have been made to make pint-sized projects pencil out, numerous challenges still exist.

鈥淭he overarching story that we’re trying to tell is that people need to start thinking of what the Portland homeowner is looking for,鈥� Isaacson said. 鈥淜eep it dense, keep it in the city and keep it green and you’ll have a buyer for it.鈥�

This month, Isaacson will be among a number of speakers who will deliver that message at the at Portland State University. The聽event will bring together industry professionals to discuss creative solutions for financing, designing and building small-scale urban infill developments.

The demand for square footage has decreased since the economy crashed five years ago, Isaacson said. More people 鈥� especially those seeking luxurious spaces between $500,000 and $1 million 鈥� are abandoning sizable homes in the suburbs for smaller, material-rich flats in the city.

鈥淭he other shift we’re seeing is that the lifestyle is surpassing the house (and) surpassing the amenities of the house and that people are really looking to live in denser urban areas so they can walk to amenities,鈥� Isaacson said. 鈥淲e call it the caf茅 lifestyle. They can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner just a walk away.鈥�

Ross Chapin, a Langley, Wash.-based architect who has designed several small-scale developments in Portland, isn’t surprised by the trend. The demand for smaller, more intimate communities harks back to a need for social connection, he said.

Last year, Chapin 鈥� who also will speak at the upcoming summit 鈥� published a book titled 鈥�.鈥� It offers architectural ideas for fostering interaction among neighbors. The pocket neighborhood is characterized by relatively small homes clumped around communal green spaces.

鈥淭he message that I’m trying to bring across is that we don’t just live in houses; we live in neighborhoods and neighborhoods are made of neighbors,鈥� Chapin said.

One hurdle, however, is the traditional notion that more square feet equates more profit. But Chapin contends that many rooms in larger homes often aren’t used. Smaller, denser and more efficient designs provide greater opportunity for constructive use of limited space.

One way to increase the feasibility of smaller homes is by decreasing minimum lot sizes. Eric Engstrom, a principal planner for the city of Portland, said that about 10 years ago the city significantly reduced its minimum lot sizes for multifamily zones to encourage infill development.

But he said more can be done and noted that the city is now weighing whether to tweak design standards for accessory dwelling units.

Presently, the city requires that ADUs replicate or match the architecture of the existing house. But that may not be ideal in some situations; for example, a proposed ADU could be required to feature unsustainable materials simply because they’re in the existing structure.

Another issue is the relevance of some of the city’s older zoning codes.

鈥淥ne overall theme is that many of the codes we have today were developed out of model codes from the last century and they were designed for suburban development and don’t work with compact urban settings,鈥� Engstrom said.

Eli Spevak, the owner of , also will speak at the housing summit. He has developed numerous small-scale projects around Portland. He emphasized the need for accurate ADU appraisement 鈥� a challenging task when no comparable properties are present. A highly anticipated paper on that very subject is due to be released in the next couple months by Portland appraiser Taylor Watkins and researcher Martin John Brown.

Spevak said he hopes to share some of the solutions he has come up with for small-scale development, and help others build more sustainably.

鈥淭he biggest population growth happening in Portland is young folks out of college, (age) 25 to 35, and downsizing baby boomers,鈥� he said. 鈥淏oth those groups are looking for smaller space and yet a lot of spec lots in Portland are being built out with 2,600 square feet 鈥� three-bed, two-and-a-half-bath houses. Those homes really aren’t a good match for this group of people that are out looking for homes.鈥�