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22 <br />23 <br />TYPE <br />Detached, <br />above garage <br />STATUS <br />Complete <br />SIZE <br />624 sq. ft. <br />BEDROOMS <br />1 <br />BUDGET <br />$125,000 <br />CASE STUDY <br />Flexible for <br />the Future <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 />When Eric & Chrissi <br />purchased their home near a Green Line station in <br />the Hamline-Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, they <br />knew from the start that the house’s detached <br />garage didn’t meet their needs. As they made plans <br />to replace it, they heard from a friend about a new <br />ordinance that gave them the option to build an <br />ADU. Eric and Chrissi started to envision all the <br />ways an ADU could benefit them in the future and <br />met with a designer to develop a plan for a one- <br />bedroom unit above a new two-car garage. <br />Eric and Chrissi liked the idea of having a flexible <br />space to support more community-oriented living <br />while still maintaining the privacy of their main <br />home. Their ADU could be a place to host friends <br />and family, and it could potentially generate rental <br />revenue that would make it possible for one of <br />them to stay home with a future child. <br />With experience in home remodeling, Eric decided <br />to become the general contractor for the project. <br />He worked full-time for six to seven months to <br />complete the construction of the ADU, hiring <br />subcontractors for electrical and plumbing work. <br />Chrissi led the interior design work, and friends and <br />family members also helped. <br />Eric is pleased with the solution they arrived at for <br />connecting water and sewer lines from the ADU to <br />the main lines in the street. Instead of the traditional <br />method of digging an open trench, the lines were <br />installed through an underground, lateral drilling process <br />that preserved more of their existing landscaping and <br />was about one-third less expensive than trenching. Eric <br />and Chrissi also designed the ADU for energy efficiency <br />and for compatibility with photovoltaic panels, so that it <br />can run mostly on solar energy. <br />Now that the ADU is complete, Eric and Chrissi’s friends <br />and family tell them it does not look at all like what they <br />imagined as a “garage apartment”—the unit is spacious <br />and feels like a home. Eric and Chrissi rent their bright, <br />modern ADU at an affordable price to a student at a <br />nearby university. <br />BA <br />BR <br />DECK <br />LR/KIT <br />Eric and Chrissi’s friends and family tell <br />them it does not look at all like what they <br />imagined as a “garage apartment”—the <br />unit is spacious and feels like a home.