New Home Is Accessible, Affordable, Attractive

TAMPA, Fla., May 15 FL-NewMillenialHomes


TAMPA, Fla., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- What may be the nation's first-ever
fully accessible home that's also designed to be affordable and attractive has
been completed in Tampa. Called the Freedom Home, the 1200-square-foot design
complies with most ADA and VA recommendations and is priced from $131,900 (not
including site). The copyrighted design also can be licensed for delivery to
sites across the country.


It was created as a collaboration between Tampa-based New Millennial Homes
and St. Petersburg resident Walton Dutcher, who became a quadriplegic after a
diving accident in 1956.


"It's particularly important now for a number of reasons," said Mike
Shrenk, NMH managing partner. "First is the growing number of handicapped
people who all too often live on very tight budgets."


Secondly, as baby boomers mature, they're realizing that planning ahead
may mean the difference between continuing to live in their own home or moving
to a wheelchair-accessible facility. "Even younger boomers are concerned about
access because they're helping their parents make those decisions," adds Dan
Waibel, NMH architect.


Without a design like the Freedom Home, residents in wheelchairs must take
a standard plan and retrofit it to include features like 36-inch doors,
44-inch halls and 60-inch turning diameters in halls, kitchens and baths, a
process which can quickly become prohibitively expensive.


Building the Freedom Home was a two-year-long labor of love for the
Dutcher and the NMH team. "Even following the detailed principles of universal
design doesn't automatically make a home easily accessible for someone in a
wheelchair," Dutcher said. "The principles outline how architecture should
adapt to changing lifestyles, but they don't tell you how to do it -- and the
devil is in the details."


Dutcher, who has worked with organizations ranging from the National
Spinal Cord Injury Association to St. Petersburg's affordable housing
committee, volunteered his time to help NMH design the home. "The challenge is
educating consumers because so many people equate universal design with
hospitals -- and that's not the case," Dutcher notes. Some elements, like grab
bars and overhead lifts can be easily added later -- if the structural support
is included in the original construction.


For instance, a homeowner who breaks a hip may spend weeks in a nursing
home if her home doesn't allow wheelchair access or have the structural
support for a sling lift. "We've built that support in," notes Joe Osman, NMH
COO. "It doesn't show until it's needed, but then it can make all the
difference in the world."


Renovating a standard home could cost three or four times more than using
an accessible design in the first place -- assuming it's even possible.
"You're talking about tearing down walls and usually moving them out, so it's
not always a feasible option," Dutcher said.


The NMH universal design will allow any homeowner to continue to live in
their home regardless of infirmities -- temporary or permanent -- that may
arise, Dutcher said.



   For more information, call 813-231-9501 or visit http://www.newmilhomes.com




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SOURCE  New Millennial Homes