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18 19 <br />TYPE <br />Detached, <br />above garage <br />STATUS <br />Complete <br />SIZE <br />528 sq. ft. <br />BEDROOMS <br />Studio <br />BUDGET <br />$225,000 <br />BUILDER <br />White Crane <br />Construction <br />CASE STUDY <br />Curious about the difference <br />between prefabricated and traditional <br />construction? See page 32. <br />A Dream <br />to Downsize <br />The case studies that follow profile real Twin Cities residents at different points along <br />their ADU journeys—from initial planning and visioning, to construction, to completion. <br />Cate and Jason loved <br />their neighborhood near Minnehaha Creek in <br />Minneapolis but yearned to downsize when their <br />kids left for college. They initially planned to sell <br />their home and move, but then they came up <br />with a better solution: building a new unit in the <br />backyard that they could live in while renting out <br />their main house. <br />After looking into various options, including <br />prefabricated modular designs, Cate and Jason <br />decided to pursue a traditional site-built ADU <br />above a two-car garage. <br />Cate and Jason hired a design-build firm that took <br />them through the process from initial design to <br />city permitting and construction. They learned that <br />they would have to tear down their existing garage <br />and build a new structure with frost footings in <br />order to meet the building code. Still, they were <br />able to cut costs by reusing their old garage door <br />and performing some work themselves, such as <br />ordering the appliances and painting the interior. <br />The completed ADU, sitting in a shaded backyard, <br />features an open layout with new appliances and an <br />in-unit washer and dryer. Cate and Jason plan to rent <br />it for a few years until they are ready to move in and <br />fulfill their dream of downsizing. <br />BA <br />STUDIO <br />PHOTO CREDIT Jill Greer photography (all photos on this spread)