Leaders in land-use planning and design for manufactured home communities

We assist manufactured home communities' owners, operators and developers with localized research, detailed site analysis, preliminary site planning, sketch master planning, re-zoning assistance and more!

"I always enjoy working with the Nadi Group. The courtesy and professionalism of the staff are outstanding. Don Westphal's knowledge and experience in the industry is unparalleled." - Paul Aslanian, Copia Equity Partners LLC
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Leaders in land use planning and design for manufactured home communities

Modern Manufactured Home Communities represent a turning point in the housing industry where affordability and livability can exist without sacrificing quality. Even though critics have referred to these communities as trailer parks and mobile home parks, contemporary manufactured houses are often built to equal or higher levels of construction fit and finish to conventional homes. In many cases, Manufactured Home Communities are a critical and positive response to the affordable housing crisis that has impacted many North Americans in the real estate market. 

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute[MHI], 22 million Americans live in manufactured homes, with the average price of a new home costing $70,600. Compared to a site-built home, this is a much better option for affordable living.

A part of this affordability stems from land ownership—manufactured communities are land lease communities. In other words, people who live in many of these manufactured home communities aren't required to own the land but may opt to lease the land on which their home resides.

Moreover, unlike a site-built home, a manufactured home is built inside a factory. This reduced cost stems from efficiencies in the factory building process, including a controlled construction environment and assembly-line techniques, and the elimination of outside influences such as weather, theft, vandalism and material damages. 

Many manufactured homes adhere to the U.S. federal HUD code, which regulates home design and construction, strength and durability, fire resistance and energy efficiency. The Manufactured Housing Institute states that manufactured homes are among the safest housing choices available today because of laws that require smoke detectors, escape windows and limited combustible materials around furnaces, water heaters and kitchen ranges.

A manufactured home also poses a reduced risk to the environment because it's built inside a factory, keeping harmful materials and toxins from contaminating the land underneath. What's more, manufacturers also reduce material waste as they purchase supplies to fulfill the exact requirements of the homes.

What is a modular home?

Much like a manufactured home, a modular home is also built inside a factory rather than on-site. However, the difference between the two remains within the codes and regulations. A modular home follows local, state and regional building codes required for site-built homes. 

What is a mobile home?

Today, manufactured homes have replaced mobile homes in name as the latter refers to any manufactured home built before June 15, 1976.

What is modern manufactured home design?

In the past, manufactured home communities went by another—more negative—term, trailer parks or mobile home parks, seemingly eliminating them as a viable option to live.

At Nadi Group, we have worked against these monikers as they no longer reflect the goals and objectives of the manufactured housing industry today. Manufactured home communities offer the same basic amenities (parks, clubhouses, ponds, playgrounds, etc.) of best practice neighborhoods, making many of these communities almost indistinguishable from traditionally built ones.

With the current real estate market featuring one-bedroom homes starting in the low six figures, many North Americans feel homeownership is impossible. The manufactured housing industry has inadvertently responded, providing a means for people to experience homeownership and a sense of community where they live.

Over the next decade, we expect the planning, design and development of manufactured housing units and communities will experience significant growth. Moreover, we anticipate a focus on resiliency and sustainability and enhanced community livability

Modern manufactured homes should reside within communities developed on sound urban design principles:

"From an urban designer’s perspective, the combination of these liberal land-use regulations with narrow, shared streets feel reminiscent of traditional urban design principles that are more common in Japanese cities and walkable European cities. So, the next step in preventing ‘affordable’ from becoming ‘cheap’ is to essentially approach manufactured housing communities with the same step-by-step design rigour and innovations as we would any other carefully conceived master plan." - Malvin Soh, An urban design approach to creating a manufactured housing community

Amenities within land lease communities are also critical to satisfying residents' expectations. When we think of public spaces, we think of green spaces, benches, monuments and more. The most successful public spaces offer various amenities that can entertain and support a diverse range of people. Urban specialist Sangmoo Kim writes for the World Bank Organization, “Public spaces are the living rooms, gardens and corridors of urban areas. They serve to extend small living spaces and provide areas for social interaction and economic activities, which improves the development and desirability of a community.”

At the Nadi Group, we see the intrinsic value of public spaces. However, like many of our projects, we approach developing public spaces with their genius loci in mind. In the context of public spaces, this is called placemaking. The art of placemaking “inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community… [facilitating] creative patterns of use, [and] paying particular attention to the physical, cultural and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.”

Successful and engaging public amenities support a greater sense of community and local character, which brings people together, creating stronger connections, safer streets and better value. Even incremental changes or updates to current spaces within established communities have insurmountable benefits, whether it’s an urban area, rooftop or privately-owned public space.

What does land use planning and design look like for manufactured housing?

While homeownership is one part of livability, the other is the community. At Nadi Group, we work closely with land developers of manufactured home communities to ensure the design reflects a sense of community. Moreover, practicing equitable design principles remain at the forefront of our approach, including walkability, accessibility and amenities—regardless of age, gender and/or capabilities. 

We start by understanding the area's genius loci through a site inspection and analysis. We perform research and analysis of the space's characteristics, culture and topography—to name a few, leading us to people’s sense of place. In architecture, many describe "Sense of Place" as "an overarching impression encompassing the general ways in which people feel about places, senses it, and assign concepts and values to it."

Understanding how the people who live there understand their community has a significant impact on how to move with public amenity design. At Nadi Group, we always consider the client's wants and desires, but it's also imperative to discover the wishes of those who use the space.

Public spaces with meaningful amenities can make a huge difference in where people want to live, work and play. Whether it's a public amenities project (on its own) or additions to a master/secondary plan—Nadi Group can help you achieve your goals and objectives. Not to mention assisting with the project's long-term viability and value.

We offer services and expertise in:

Lavender Place Site Plan

How we help manufactured home park owners and operators

With over 50 years of experience in the manufactured housing industry, we understand the importance of using sound land-use planning principles and cohesive, intentional design guidelines to create complete communities. Our goal is to design beautiful and memorable communities through innovative planning and design, reducing economic and environmental costs and enhancing community livability. We believe that now, more than ever, communities designed around factory-built homes are at the forefront of future affordability and innovative housing solutions in the real estate market.

Across the United States, Nadi Group has helped developers realize their manufactured home communities and mobile home parks. With our extensive industry knowledge, we can assist with every part of the research, planning and design process:

Operational audits:

Conducted by a team of experienced and successful park owners, we will visit your park and take a deep dive into your park’s operations, uncovering areas of improvement and opportunity.

Operations assistance

Running a park isn’t easy, but we can help you work smarter instead of harder by streamlining processes and improving areas of service and operations.

Marketing (traditional and digital), advertising and sale

Promoting your park is essential. We can help you determine what sets it apart from your competitors and define your brand and position in the market.

Reservations and front desk management

Ensuring your guests are taken care of from start to finish remains integral to your park’s success! Seamless guest services will leave your guests wanting more.

Revenue management

Maximizing your revenue will yield better profits. We can help you generate better profits from each site and rental.

Human resources, recruitment and team training

Recognizing the people you want to hire can take a little extra help. We have experience in recruitment, management and training to ensure you have a solid team.

Recreation planning

Updating or establishing an activity program will elevate your park's offerings. We have expertise in helping you determine which activities will work best.

Guest satisfaction surveys and research

Performing analysis and research, we will determine your guests' needs and wants and how close your park is to achieving them.

Land planning and design

Creating a tourist destination requires an expert land planning consultant. We can assist you with site analysis and selection, re-zoning, conceptual design, construction planning, permitting, detailed landscape design, CAD drawings and wayfinding.

How we help manufactured home community investors and developers

Market and competitive analysis

Approaching a manufactured home park can be daunting. However, we assist with evaluating the project’s market potential and strength.

Feasibility study

Developing and planning a manufactured home community requires a feasibility study. We can help you make meaningful decisions on where to invest your finances.

Site and market evaluations

Assessing the site under consideration and who it will serve will inform the best business model for your project.

Due diligence support

Investing your money is something we take seriously. We will lead the due diligence program, providing you with a high level of comfort.

Exit Strategy Planning

Planning for the long-term, savvy business people have an exit plan.

Land planning, layout and design

Creating a tourist destination requires an expert land planning consultant. We can assist you with site analysis and selection, re-zoning, conceptual design, construction planning, permitting, detailed landscape design, CAD drawings and wayfinding.

Expansions and refreshes

Specializing in new development, we also specialize in redevelopment and manufactured home community expansions.

Lonestar Site Data Zoning
"Don Westphal is a mentor of mine. He taught the value of design over density, that taking advantage of topographical features to achieve greater value with less density most often exceeding proforma returns." - Dominic Moceri, The Moceri Company
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  844-669-6234