ADU in Colorado Springs

[Canneton Howard]

I bought a duplex unit in Colorado Springs about 6 months ago and want to continue to grow my portfolio but with prices going up, nothing in the area is making sense to buy at the moment. However, the lot that this duplex is on is plenty big to build an additional 1-2 units (detached from main unit). 

It is currently zoned as an R2 so technically I shouldn't have any issues building an ADU. I would however like to maximize my ROI so ideally I would like to build another duplex. Obviously this would depend on getting it rezoned to an R4.

First of all, has anyone recently tried to rezone to an R4 in El Paso county and what was your experience?

Assuming that I can get it rezoned to an R4, is it worth the extra costs/hassle to go this route?

I've started talking to a GC and according to him, the fees associated with 1 tap vs 2 jumps from ~$5500 to ~$19000 along with other fees and red tape. He's finishing up building a duplex on his own property and says he wishes he'd gone with just a single unit.

Has anyone else gone through the experience of building additional units on a rental property (or your own property for that matter)?

What $/sq ft should I expect for something like this in this area?

I appreciate any feedback the BP community might have on this.

[Michael Randle]

Here is my limited knowledge on the subject from Denver area that you might be able to apply do in the Springs.

Email the county zoning board and ask them. I did that up here and got an email with step by step instructions on what to do and a point of contact that specialized in the exact zoning you are looking for.

That said I was told I would need to own the property, have an engineer report with soil samples, structural plans and at least two hearings to re-zone and build. I was quoted 8-16 months before I could begin to break ground.

As for the cost I am 100% in the dark since I was unable to find a GC with experience building a duplex or anything that wasn't already under contract doing other work. I would also be interested in know what people have been priced for price per square foot or price per unit.

[Bill S.]

@Canneton Howard I don't know the regulations in Co Springs so you definitely want to check it out with the local zoning authority. Generally speaking a duplex already has the ADU. R2 means two units max (including the ADU). What that means is you can't add more than 2 total units in R2. You should check this out with the Zoning. In addition, some areas require that the owner occupy one of the units of an ADU property. That would severely hamper the resale as not many buyers want to owner occupy a three unit property and it could force you to sell the property if you want to move.

A quick look at the zoning code tells me you probably won't be able to meet setbacks and open space requirements when you add extra units. Based on what I've seen those are usually the points that trip you up increasing density.

[Canneton Howard]

Thanks @Michael Randle

I did contact the county on this a few weeks back but it basically came down to I needed to have plans ready in order to meet with the planner. Seems kind of silly to go to those extremes when I just wanted to get some information about the process, regulations, etc.

Are you currently in process of building or still playing the waiting game?

[Canneton Howard]

Thanks @Bill S.

Good point on checking on owner occupy rules. I don't plan on living there so definitely want to get that cleared up.

I was also just thinking if it's easier to split the lots. The legal description for all the properties in this area are listed as two lots. Not sure if anyone can comment on that.

Anyone have any prices for building these types of additional units?

[Drew Leo]

I'm a fan of ADUs, and through my research, you may want to try a Modular GC who works with a factory to get you the dwellings you need.  Unlike what we think as traditional ground up custom buildings, Modulars (not manufactured trailers) are factory built and approved by state standards (usually higher and more thorough that local regulations).  Consider them as doing this type of building weekly with 4-8 homes and getting them approved with the same state inspector at the same location year round.  Most average cities don't know what the hell they are doing or saying because they don't see ADUs except for 5x a year and simply deny them.

My tour and research of a company called US Modular in California has the GC getting the feasibility study done for $3500 (used as a credit towards the build but is a fee if you don't move forward with build).  Essentially this is 90% of the round map of how they and you will build this dwelling.  There are a handful of local criteras the company will abide by but I was told if the state regulation that they can build to specs are legal, their modular home will trump the local rule.  I was skeptical because it boils down to if I'm willing to battle with locals even if they are wrong.  

If the success rate that this business claims as 90%+ building ADUs for their customers is true, I can see the optimism.  I understand the huge unknown but there maybe few and unique builders out there that are putting these things in the ground.  They figure out the rules, they know the state rules, the GC puts the foundation in, while the factory builds the 1600sqft building in 4-5 months, drops it in and all is complete in 2 days.  Happy learning!

[Canneton Howard]

Thanks for the additional information Drew!