TUCSON, Ariz. — Logan Havens managed to finish the roof of his 650-square-foot backyard casita before Tucson's brutal summer kicked in.
He's been working on the building since early January, starting a few days after a state law expanding ADUs — or accessory dwelling units— went into effect, expanding the number of ADUs allowed on single-family properties.
“I’m about four months in," Havens said, "My hands are red from lifting metal panels."
He's built nearly the entire unit by himself, even transporting much of the equipment and materials on his bike.
“We designed it so that people could build it themselves because we know that about half the cost of a building is the labor,” Havens said.
In November, The City of Tucson selected Havens's and his partner's ADU building plans, calling their "Detached Sonoran ADU" design "a contemporary representation of historic Tucson architecture. It uses similar methods and philosophies of our oldest structures but is based on current materials and processes. It is heavily insulated, all-electric, accessible, uncomplicated, and designed to last generations."
It's one of nine ADU building plans in the virtual library, a database the city says is designed to increase housing variance and affordability in some of Tucson's more popular neighborhoods.
The City of Tucson amended its zoning code in October of 2024 to allow ADUs on single-family residential properties, creating the model plan library a month later with plans made and submitted by Tucsonans.
“Now we have these flexible options," Havens said, referencing the zoning amendment. "We need to take that and we need to make it beautiful. We need to make it fun. We can’t just wait for the solutions to come to us from an outside developer.”
His specific design, along with many of the others, draw from Tucson's historic houses while adding modern touches like appliances and prioritizing sustainability with wastewater management and solar paneling.
Havens says the final building cost for this unit — without a contractor — is between $100,000 and $120,000.
Two more Detached Sonoran ADUs are being built around Tucson: one to house an elderly parent of a property owner and the other for a Tucsonan looking to help her friends find a place to rent. He says it is also being considered as an art studio or rental unit.
The specific ADU in Havens's backyard will serve as a real-life model for potential builders and tenants.
