Living Small and Loving it: B.A. Norrgard Wants to Build a Tiny House Community in Dallas

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I’ve been following B.A. Norrgard’s tiny house adventures on her blog, and while it is at times funny and fascinating at others, her process of “lifestyle repackaging” has been thought-provoking for the most part.

Norrgard, once a paralegal at a Dallas firm, was disaffected with her highly consumer-oriented life and wanted to live in a way that was more fulfilling. So she divested herself from her possessions and her home and began work on her tiny house, a 112-square-foot design from Four Lights Houses. She’s now rent free, mortgage free, and property tax free, she says.

It’s been a long road for Norgarrd, but as her tiny home is close to completion (just adding air conditioning) our attention is turning toward what it would take to for Dallas to accept a development like the tiny house community that Norgarrd proposes.

BA Norgarrd Tiny House

Austin is already at work developing a project like this, and it has a double-duty purpose as providing transitional housing to homeless individuals as they get back on their feet. Mobile Loaves and Fishes calls this project Community First! Village, and it is a revolutionary way to create oversight and access to resources for the chronically homeless.

But what Norgarrd wants to do will involve wrangling Dallas city code, purchasing a tract of land, and changing the zoning. Ideally she’d prefer to buy an existing mobile home park and flip it. But where is a good spot for it? Near Greenville Avenue maybe? Or White Rock Lake? I know something similar was attempted on West Dallas off of Fort Worth Avenue, but now Wood Partners is building a luxury apartment building in its place. Perhaps Oak Cliff would be a good spot? Or maybe somewhere near budding Trinity Groves?

Where do you think Dallas should build its first tiny home community?

 

Joanna England is the Executive Editor at CandysDirt.com and covers the North Texas housing market.

11 Comments

  1. Scott M. on June 9, 2014 at 3:42 pm

    It’s called “the projects”.

  2. Cynthia Smoot on June 9, 2014 at 3:44 pm

    There is something immensely appealing about this concept. The older I get, the more attractive downsizing and simplifying becomes. I will be curious to see if this trend catches on.

    • Candy Evans on June 9, 2014 at 10:29 pm

      I know, Cynthia, but sometimes I just look inside a closet and… just want to CRY! There is SO MUCH STUff that one accumulates with two kids and a very busy life! 🙂

  3. B. Thomas on June 9, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    Perhaps behind the Pink Wall.

  4. John Larkin on June 9, 2014 at 8:42 pm

    Candy we call those RV or Trailer Parks.

  5. Patrick on June 10, 2014 at 7:27 am

    I’m.not sure about living in a 112 sqft (roughly 10×11) , but I commend the idea.

    Oak Cliff and West Dallas, the Cedars, etc would be great.
    But the down side would be, if these houses are owned by people with lower incomes, what will they do to an existing neighborhood. Unless there are by laws set in place for upkeep.

  6. Susan Nelson Wheeler on June 10, 2014 at 10:04 am

    I have looked at these tiny houses with complete fascination. One question: if it’s on a trailer, how is it plumbed? That would be a definite deal killer!

  7. Sandy Maltese on June 11, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    THE CEDARS!! Perfect place as the neighborhood loves and supports eclectic homes and easy living!!

  8. Cian on November 1, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    I live in Frisco. The North Dallas area is growing exponentially. I would love to live in a tiny house village and move out of my expensive rent apartment (on the lower end in the area). I can see a tiny house community developing somewhere near the Colony or Little Elm area.

  9. Ema on February 10, 2016 at 12:23 pm

    Seems like Ohio is ready for a pocket nheoghiorhood. We haven’t yet heard from a developer who is considering one, though. Talk with your city to find if they have a zoning pathway to allow for this. Show them this website, or better, give them a copy of the book. And ask about builders or developers in the area who get it’. Then give us a call. Good luck!

  10. My Name on January 7, 2019 at 11:06 pm

    Coppell (Sandy Lake and George Bush 75019) has a great mobile home park, fun and funky and I think a section for tiny homes would be great. After all, many/most tiny homes are mobile, just as the trailers.

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