10 casita plans win Tempe contest

Ten accessory dwelling unit plans have won the Accessory Dwelling Unit Design Challenge for accessibility, affordability, sustainability, and floorplan.

Funded by AARP’s Community Challenge Grant, the city invited designers and architects to create accessible ADU floor plans that could fit naturally into Tempe neighborhoods. Over 480 residents took part in voting for the final selections

ADUs, sometimes called backyard casitas or guest houses, are private, self-contained homes that can be used for family members, rentals, extra space or to age in place.

The chosen plans will become part of Tempe’s new ADU Standard Plan Library, a collection of pre-approved designs for residents to choose from to be able to license directly from designers after final review. This can help homeowners save thousands in design and review fees.

“These ADU designs reflect the desires of the community and are an important tool for providing a variety of housing options in Tempe.” said Jocob Payne, principal planner with the City of Tempe in a statement.

Designers will now submit construction documents for review. Once approved, the plans will be available at tempe.gov/StandardPlanLibrary, where residents can explore options and contact designers to get started.