Stacked Duplexes, Cottage-Style
Water St
4 Units, 2 Buildings
1 beds, 1 Baths
Meadville, PA
Module’s Role: Design, Manufacture
Led by Common Roots, the Water Street development will create four new permanently affordable one-bedroom rental homes in Meadville, Pennsylvania. As Crawford County’s only community land trust, Common Roots is developing the homes as part of an innovative rental cooperative model designed to expand access to quality, affordable housing.
To respond to the project’s unique needs, Module worked closely with Common Roots to develop the Stacked Commoner, a two-story duplex design with a separate one-bedroom, one-bath home on each floor. Each approximately 800-square-foot home is designed to meet DOE Zero Energy Ready Home standards, with accessible first-floor units.
Located near downtown Meadville, Water Street demonstrates how thoughtful design and offsite construction can help bring high-quality new housing to smaller communities where affordable new construction can be difficult to deliver.
Project partners include the Federal Home Loan Bank, City of Meadville Redevelopment Authority, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and Crawford County Blight Revitalization Program. Manufacturing is anticipated to begin by the end of 2026.
“Meadville desperately needs affordable homes. Lower income households have few, if any, good options in this market. Employers are struggling to recruit and retain the workers they need. Our downtown needs density to thrive. These funds will be used to transform vacant land on a central corridor into six new, energy-efficient, affordable homes for working families.”
- Julie Wilson, Ph.D., Executive Director of Common Roots
Common Roots is a Meadville-based nonprofit and community land trust working to create sustainable, permanently affordable homes while building wealth and housing stability for local residents. Through the Water Street project and other housing initiatives, Common Roots is helping diversify Meadville’s housing stock and create new options for households, including college graduates and other residents who might otherwise leave the community in search of housing that meets their needs.