HTF Receives Grant Funding for 3D Printed Affordable Home

$575,000 in Combined Awards from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments

By the Housing Trust Fund

The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County (HTF) is pleased to announce that it has received $575,000 in combined grant funding from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG).

The Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation provided a $200,000 to support HTF’s Housing Innovations Program and the prototype 3D printed affordable home. SBCAG provided a $375,000 grant award through the State HCD funded Regional Early Action Planning Grants (R.E.A.P.) program.

The R.E.AP program provided SBCAG with $5.25 million in funding to support in-fill projects and planning programs that facilitate greater housing supply, choice and affordability, fair housing opportunities and reduce vehicle miles traveled. The grants will support planning and permanent financing costs for the 3D home.

The goal of the 3D printed home project is to demonstrate new robotics construction technology that reduces the time and cost to construct affordable housing and encourages the use of sustainable, climate resilient and fire resistant building materials. The home will also have a solar photovoltaic system, drought tolerant landscaping and other sustainability features.

RRM Design Group a community-based and award-winning design firm is providing design services for the project. Detlev (Detty) Peikert, AIA, LEED, AP, BD+C, Architectural Principle at RRM Design Group, is the lead architect for the 3D home. Detty and his team have completed an innovative design for the home that showcases what can be achieved using robotics construction technology.

HTF is also partnering with Apis Cor, an engineering firm located in Melbourne, Florida, to construct the home using their state-of-the-art robotics construction technology. Apis Cor won top awards in NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge for building 3D structures on Mars and recently completed the world’s largest 3D printed commercial building in Dubai.

The home will be developed on property owned by Cambridge Drive Community Churchlocated at 550 Cambridge Drive in Goleta, CA. As co-sponsor of the 3D printed home project, Cambridge Drive Community Church has a strong history of supporting affordable housing. The church will own the home when completed and it will be leased to Transition House, a local housing provider, to provide permanent housing for a formerly homeless family.

About the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County

The Housing Trust Fund is an innovative 501(c)(3) non-profit financing agency and U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that works to expand the supply of affordable housing within our diverse Santa Barbara County communities.

We help bridge the financial gap between the cost of housing and what people can afford to pay. We partner with the private, public and nonprofit sectors to raise new financial resources for affordable housing. We design innovative housing solutions, provide technical assistance and low-cost loans to community sponsors to facilitate affordable housing production and provide homebuyer financial assistance. We fund affordable housing opportunities that enhance the quality of life and preserve the long-term affordability of the housing as a community resource.

HTF is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of countywide community leaders with expertise in real estate and development, banking, law, business, local government, nonprofits and affordable housing.