Massive US apartment developer jumps into modular home business in PA

On Monday, Greystar Real Estate Partners opened up a modular apartment complex with six buildings which has its own gym, bocce courts, and an amphitheater. The new complex is called "Ltd. Findlay" and is located in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project, 16 miles outside of Pittsburgh, is one of the largest in the United States when it comes to modular homes.

Modular homes differentiate from apartments or other housing projects because there is much less on-site construction in comparison. The homes are built elsewhere and then stacked on top of each other at the final housing site. It's use, though still uncommon, has been growing as of late, per the WJS, and consulting firm McKinsey projects that revenue for the fraction of the housing market will grow to over $1 trillion by 2040.

The developers built homes ranging from 662 to 1,373 square feet and have between one- and three-bedroom spaces. Modular home buildings have typically saved developers 5 to 10 percent on costs when it is used.

"Modular [has emerged] as a more viable alternative to traditional construction methods," senior partner at McKinsey Jose Luis Blanco said. Greystar is based in Charleston, South Carolina and has had some successes in building the homes in the UK. The project in Pennsylvania was built for around 90 percent of the cost of what traditional homes would run for in the area of Pittsburgh.

The Modular Building Institute, a non-profit associated with the market of modular homes and regulations regarding them, is working on developing universal standards for the system. The states that have adopted guidelines from the organization so far include Utah, Colorado, Montana, Rhode Island, and Virginia.