A bunk squeezed between a window and the ceiling serves as the guest bedroom, and the work desk is jammed between the washer-drier combo and refrigerator.

The 450-square-foot "micro-home" isn't large enough for a family. But one Nashville affordable housing developer sees big potential here for the little houses.

Eddie Latimer, CEO of nonprofit Affordable Housing Resources, is developing a "micro-village" of 13 small modular houses in North Nashville.

They will rent for about $1,000 a month – roughly $200 less than the average efficiency in Davidson County. In downtown Nashville, median studio apartment rent is $1,545 a month, according to Zillow.

Tiny homes are popping up in dense cities across the country as young professional singles prioritize living in hip, walkable communities over spacious accommodations, according to nonprofit research firm Urban Land Institute.

Already, downtown Nashville apartment developers are building smaller units with more communal amenities to cater to singles.

Latimer has placed three models on display at one of the city's trendiest locales – East Nashville's Five Points neighborhood, in a vacant lot next to Bongo East coffee shop.

"Our goal is to help Nashville discover tools to start replacing the affordable housing we're losing," Latimer said. "You could put four or five of these on a lot."

Teeny homes have been popularized on shows like HGTV's Tiny House Hunters where creative design elements are used to get the most out of the space.

Latimer is working with Berkshire Hathaway's Clayton Homes to develop the small modular homes, which have energy-saving utilities such as tankless water heaters.

French doors and granite counter tops

Nashville's development boom has caused home prices to nearly double in the past six years, when the average home price jumped from $140,000 to $260,000.

Meanwhile, low-income residents have been pushed farther from the city's core in search of a fast-dwindling supply of affordable housing.

Luxury micro-homes aren't a solution to the affordable housing crisis for very low-income residents, but they could deliver more options in the workforce housing market.

At about $130,000 each, they could also make home ownership a reality for many people who can't afford one now, Latimer said.

Sometimes called granny flats or mother-in-law suites, they can fit in backyards as guest houses.

Souped-up design elements are used to maximize the minimal spaces. There are plenty of tall windows. French doors, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, and granite counter tops bring a luxurious finish.

Some models have exposed wooden ceiling beams, porches, and Poplar bark siding.

Micro-living is trending

The nation's growing number of single-person households, also fueled by a rising senior population, is encouraging developers to invest in tinier apartments and houses.

"Millennials are very serious about reducing their carbon footprint and they don't really care about big houses," Latimer said. "The city has a lot of small lots where you could put these."

Chicago-based CA Ventures is now building a 25-story, 360-unit apartment building at 2004 West End Avenue that will have units that are, on average, about 600 square feet.

But even smaller micro-apartments less than 400 square feet are popular in dense cities like New York, San Francisco, Austin, and Chicago.

High-priced housing markets are the epicenter of this trend.

Nashville's rising housing costs have displaced tens of thousands of low-income residents from the downtown core in recent years, according to Metro reports.

Developers say higher land and construction costs in popular areas prevents them from building affordable housing.

To help quell the problem, Latimer is working on plans to bring micro-home communities to Nashville on a large scale.

Affordable Housing Resources offers down-payment loans, foreclosure prevention help, and home-buyer education classes.

Urban Housing Solutions, another local nonprofit affordable housing developer, is escalating its efforts to bring more low-income apartments to market.

The company is using grants and low-income housing tax credits to rehabilitate old buildings and develop new affordable apartments. They recently rehabilitated a 274-unit apartment building and are developing another 141 new low-income apartments.

"There's unbelievable demand for affordable housing," said Urban Housing Solutions Executive Director Rusty Lawrence. "We have about 400 people on our waiting list and we don't have that much turnover."

Sandy Mazza can be reached via email at smazza@tennessean.com, by calling 615-726-5962, or on Twitter @SandyMazza.

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