As Derek Huegel walked through a small cottage in the Ogden neighborhood, he pointed to the in-unit washer and dryer and the contemporary finishes, including hardwood floors.
Huegel, alongside his brother Travis, are the owners of Wolf Industries, which specializes in building small, modular homes that sell at below-market-rate prices. The company manufactures the homes in Battle Ground on a production line and later place them elsewhere. Wolf developed a seven-cottage cluster called the Ogden District Cottages at 7919 N.E. 32nd St. in Vancouver.
“We’re super excited to be able to offer this to the marketplace,” Huegel said. “It’s affordable and attainable housing.”
The cluster of 750-square-foot cottages sit close together around a shared green space. Wolf Industries began developing the cluster in 2021 — about a month after the city of Vancouver adopted its cottage-cluster code.
That year, Vancouver changed its regulations to enable development of more so-called middle housing, a category that includes multiplexes, townhouses and cottage clusters.
Rent for the one- and two-bedroom homes starts at $1,550 a month, according to Wolf Industries’ website.
Washington is the fifth most unaffordable state nationwide for housing, with the average fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment at $2,097, according to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Huegel said the cottage community would be a great option for younger, working professionals, families or senior couples looking to downsize. The below-market rent will help seniors age in place or young people work toward homeownership, he said.
The cottages are near The Meridian and The Pacific apartments, Vancouver housing authority housing-first apartment complexes.
The Columbian recently reported on the ongoing drug trafficking problem at the apartments. But Huegel said his company has been communicating with the Vancouver Police Department and the situation is improving.
Huegel said he hopes residents of the cottages will form a community, which is why they share a courtyard with a waterfall and a fire pit.
“When you’re walking to your cottage, you have to walk in close proximity to someone else’s house. Hopefully that will create more dialogue with neighbors … have people hanging out around the campfire and chit-chatting when they’re off work,” Huegel said. “We want to drive cohesiveness between people.”
