Terra Search Partners Join Forces With ULI to Publish New Research on Micro Units

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif  — San Francisco-based Terra Search Partners together with several other Multifamily Housing Council member firms and research partners joined forces with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to recently publish a new report titled The Macro View on Micro Units. 

This report explores the new trend towards small dwelling units in the United States. The ULI Multifamily Housing Councils were awarded a foundation grant for the research, which evaluates the market performance and acceptance of micro units from multiple perspectives. 

Micro units are defined as very small (by traditional standards) apartments located in urban areas, particularly high-density, expensive metropolitan markets such as Boston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. 

Bill Whitlow, a Partner with San Francisco-based Terra Search Partners, chaired the ULI Research Committee which was comprised of representatives from each of the four Multifamily Housing Councils. 

The Committee wrote the report and oversaw the work of research partners which conducted interviews with ULI Multifamily Council members and other developers, operators, and design professionals familiar with micro unit developments to determine critical success factors, best practices, and lessons learned. 

Topics within the report include innovative design strategies, necessary/desirable community amenities and services, locational characteristics, operating experience, and construction and operational costs.

The findings were presented at the annual fall ULI meeting, held in New York, NY. ULI is a nonprofit research and education organization supported by its members, who represent land use and real estate development disciplines working in private enterprise and public service.