Norton Agency: new bungalow concept ‘is just enough space’

The Norton Agency built two 512-square-foot concept homes in the Gainesville, Hall County area to help provide attainable housing to people in the community.

“We wanted to build a test in the county and have people walk through and understand the product, that it’s not this tiny home and not to be scared of 512-square-feet, it actually feels quite large,” Assistant Vice President of Property Management Emilie Norton Cisco said at an open house Thursday.

The Norton Agency’s bungalow concepts are located in the county directly behind its New Holland Studios off Spring Street in Gainesville. The agency was not able to build its bungalows in the city limits due to square-footage restrictions, she said. 

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom homes were built with vaulted ceilings, windows in nearly every room, storage space, a full-size kitchen, stackable washer and dryer, a large front porch and luxury finishes.

“You don’t get any of the cheapness. We’re trying to build the best quality for what we can offer,” Cisco said.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Hall County was $1,579 at last report, according to apartmentlist.com.

Norton’s free-standing bungalows are aimed to provide ‘attainable housing’ with a monthly rental price of $1,295 with some utilities included, Cisco said.

“We’re trying to build attainable housing that is cost effective for both us and a tenant that we can charge an attainable price, something that’s not going to be one of these sky-high rents,” she said. “We want to be able to provide quality living spaces for people who are out there working.”

The Norton Agency spent $130,000 out-of-pocket to build each of its bungalows. The agency was denied secured bank loans because it was such a new concept for the company; However, the agency's smaller design proved to be in high-demand as both homes were either leased or had an active application status prior to the end of its open house, Cisco said.

“You should see some in the future, but we’re not going to sacrifice some of our finishes for price. A lot of where the price comes from is what we can get the land for. That’s where your cost is,” Cisco said.

The Norton Agency built two 512-square-foot bungalow concept homes to cater to the Gainesville, Hall County community and provide attainable housing.

The backside of Norton's bungalows dressed with the agency's signature stars. Norton placed red and white stars on their 'attainable housing' homes around the Gainesville community.

Tenants will be welcomed into their living room as soon as they walk through the front door.

The agency designed its bungalows with vaulted ceilings to open the space. The small door located near the upper portion of the wall was originally supposed to be a loft, but the design did not work for the home. Instead, the intended loft area was planned as storage space.

Each bungalow was built with a large front porch suitable for entertaining. The agency also installed a couple wooden screens to increase tenant privacy.

Norton's bungalows are a 1-bedroom/1-bathroom floor plan. The bedroom has enough space for a desk, bed and sitting area (see next photo).

Norton's bungalows are a 1-bedroom/1-bathroom floor plan. The bedroom has enough space for a desk, bed and sitting area (see previous photo).

The full bathroom is equipped with a shower/tub combo, vanity with sink cabinet and a standard toilet. The small window opened-up the space and allowed for natural lighting.

The bungalow's bedroom has a walk-in closet with a full-size, stackable washer and dryer.

Each of Norton's bungalows are equipped with a full-size kitchen with a movable island.

A small coat closet is located to the left of the front door as folks walk into the home.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2023/3/1176053/norton-agency-new-bungalow-concept-is-just-enough-space