Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Steel Hollow Cottage Community in Pocatello offers 16 unique rental units.
- The units provide a community feel while also being standalone cottage-style homes on small lots.
- Local property managers highlight the need for more affordable housing developments like this one.
POCATELLO – A brand new housing development with a unique design has units available for rent – but how long they'll stay available is anyone's guess.
The construction of Steel Hollow Cottage Community, a housing development on a previously vacant lot on Jefferson Avenue, is nearing completion. The developers aim to have all 16 units finished by January.
But people who want to move there don't have to wait until then to try and secure their spot. While six of the units are already rented, people can apply on the Steel Hollow website to move into one of the other 10 units once they become available.
"It's meant to solve a housing issue for some people that are not looking for a ton of space, but they don't want to share four walls, and they also want a community feel," said Brandon DesFosses, owner of Idaho Management, which is managing Steel Hollow.
Dakota Worrell, president of DW Investors, is the owner of the property on 620 Jefferson Avenue, which had long sat vacant before the Steel Hollow development.
"It was just an ugly piece of dirt on this corner here with some sheds on it," DesFosses described.
Worrell broke ground on the development in April, with a plan to provide a housing option for people who don't need a lot of space, but are still looking for a nice place to live.
To fit more housing units on the relatively small piece of land while still leaving enough room for parking spaces, Worrell opted for a cottage court-style layout.
Each cottage has the same layout, but there are three different types of unit styles: the Foundry, the Forge, and the Mill. These unit styles feature different backsplashes and interior colors, as well as distinct exterior designs, to avoid a uniform appearance.
"(Worrell) did a good job of not just going through and doing 16 identical houses. When you walk through, it feels a little bit different," DesFosses said.
And Worrell didn't cut corners on the finishes, DesFosses said.
"You've got actually nice wood cabinets that are custom. … Nice railings, nice tiles in the bathroom, nice backsplash. They're pretty high end in terms of the finishes, and so even though the space isn't huge … you've got a nice place," DesFosses said.
With each cottage being nearly 460 square feet in size, DesFosses said they're not meant for people looking for a large house.
"This is meant for someone that's looking to just live (and) have some space. They may not be home very often, they may (live) an active lifestyle," DesFosses said.
With each unit renting for $1,100, DesFosses said these address a housing need in Pocatello, providing a place to live for people who can't afford to own their own home in a subdivision.
"$1,200 and under is (Idaho Management's) price point for a lot of our rentals that are apartment style, and those are super full. We really don't have any vacancies, and so that obviously means that there's a huge supply needed for that," DesFosses said.
And DesFosses said that more housing that meets the needs of Steel Hollow's market is needed in Pocatello.
"If you can do 20 of these, not necessarily (like Steel Hollow) exactly, but 20 more developments for housing in the $1,200 and under range, that's what we're looking for," DesFosses said.
