Bringing Tiny Solutions to Big Problems

As an architect specializing in commercial projects, Margaret Wyman Randolph ’03 is accustomed to creative problem solving. So it’s not surprising that she tapped those skills to help solve a staffing shortage at the New Hampshire assisted living facilities she owns with her husband, John.

 

The couple operates Harmony Homes by the Bay and Harmony Homes at Hickory Pond, both in Durham. Even before the pandemic hit, they were struggling to retain employees at their facilities, most notably because of the area’s high housing costs. That’s what led them to get creative. In 2020, Randolph launched GSD Studios to focus on residential designs, and in 2021 they opened an affordable housing complex for Harmony Homes employees, situated on the same 28 acres on the banks of the Oyster River that make up the Harmony Homes by the Bay campus. In addition to seven one-bedroom apartments, the project includes office space and a childcare center. Rents range between $650 to $850 a month, or no more than 30 percent of a tenant’s salary. Federal public housing rates for the area average $1,000 a month.

“It’s all about bringing back affordable cities,” says Randolph, whose background is in urban design. “We hear horror stories about people having to drive an hour or more to find a place to live that they can afford. We believe people should have the right to live where they work. With so many across our state struggling right now, John and I are proud to be working toward a solution.”

 

That solution doesn’t end with the newly leased apartments. “We knew they weren’t going to be enough,” Randolph says. “We’ve been seeing a need for affordable housing for a while now.” To that end, the Randolphs are building 44 tiny houses in Dover — 384 square feet each — that will rent for under $1,000 a month. The units will be available to anyone, not just Harmony Homes employees.

 

The annual income cap for the tiny house rentals is $44,000, serving individuals such as firefighters, teachers and childcare workers in entry-level positions. To foster community, each cottage will have a porch and face a common green. All have on-street parking.

 

Randolph designed the project to bring multiple generations together — those workers serving the community as well as older adults, perhaps those who spend winters elsewhere and want to live in New Hampshire just a few months a year. College students would have the option of working at Harmony Homes 16 hours a week and having their income cover their rent, she says. The first cottages are expected to be available in the fall.

 

Randolph calls affordable housing a hot-button topic right now, noting that discussions are going on with workforce housing coalitions in cities across the state and around the country.

 

“Affordable housing isn’t an easy thing,” she acknowledges. “A lot of developers want a bigger return. And part of the process is education — there’s a lot of ‘not in my back yard.’ This isn’t low-income housing. These are people making $40,000 a year. We want to offer long-term solutions. We knew we couldn’t keep employees if we didn’t try to do something about where they live.”

 

Randolph and her husband are looking to do more tiny homes projects. Although housing is a departure from the commercial work Randolph has built her career on, it is one she believes in. And one that fills not just the need of potential renters but one within herself: the need to make a difference.