Fox Run, Michigan

Introduction

A private developer engaged the Nadi Group to create a full design brief package for a planned manufactured home community Boyne City, Mich. The proposed community will consist of 145 leased lots on a 29.64-acre tract.

Project Summary

To get the city’s approval, we had to provide detailed descriptions, renderings and images concerning the possibility of a new manufactured home community. We stipulated that this community will be professionally managed and homesite leases will be tied to a comprehensive set of ‘Guidelines for Living’ that will assure the continued high level of maintenance and appearance of the community. Moreover, the Homesites will be occupied by single section and multi-section homes built to the HUD code. All homes initially placed in the community will be new and have exterior horizontal lap siding and pitched, shingled roofs. The homes will be uniformly skirted, installed and inspected under state and federally approved procedures.

Our Role

Our first step entailed background research and site analysis of the location, traffic report and soil studies. The findings of these studies informed us to us to adopt a design approach that is sensitive to the site’s unique topography, existing treelines, groundwater table, surface drainage and the adjacent neighborhoods.

This approach guided us in the preparation of a sketch plan depicting street and lot layouts, and the location of the clubhouse, detention pond and other amenities. One critical aspect to the design was the carefully planned allotment of the homes in terms of optimization of the yield, reinforcement of public street frontage, sensitive alignment to neighbors and overall harmony with the site’s characteristics.

Based on our successes in past zoning operations, we created a presentation document designed to impress the viewer with the ultimate quality of the community and the need for attainable housing in the Boyne City area. This document also included proposed home illustrations, sanitary water disposal and runoff data, and other supporting information that will assist in obtaining a favorable response from the Planning Commission, City Council and the citizens of Boyne City.