Ever wondered how long it would take to build an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in your backyard? <\/p>\n
In the case of Alvaro \u201cAl\u201d and Nenette Alcazar, a retired couple, who downsized from a six-bedroom home in New Orleans to a one-bedroom ADU in Los Angeles, it took just 3\u00bd months. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe went on vacation to the Philippines in November, right as they were getting started on construction,\u201d Al says of the ADU his son Jay Alcaraz and his partner Andy Campbell added behind their home in Harbor Gateway. \u201cWhen we returned in March of this year, the house was ready for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Alcazars were surprised by the rapid completion of their new 570-square-foot modular home by Gardena-based Cover. By the time construction was finished, they hadn\u2019t yet listed their New Orleans home, where they lived for 54 years while raising their two sons. <\/p>\n
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Andy Campbell, seated left, and his partner Jay Alcazar\u2019s home is reflected in the windows of the ADU where Alcazar\u2019s parents Al and Nenette Alcazar, standing, now reside.<\/p>\n
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Jay Alcazar and Andy Campbell\u2019s backyard in Harbor Gateway before they added an ADU. <\/p>\n
(Jay Alcazar)<\/p>\n
Alexis Rivas, co-founder and CEO of Cover<\/a>, was also surprised by how quickly the ADU was permitted, taking just 24 days. \u201cThe total time from permit submittal to certificate of occupancy was 104 days,\u201d he says, crediting the city\u2019s Standard Plan and the ADU\u2019s integrated panelized system for making it the fastest Cover has ever permitted. <\/p>\n For Al, a longtime religious studies professor<\/a> at Loyola University New Orleans and community organizer, the construction process was more than just demolition and site prep. Seeing the Cover workers collaborate on their home reminded him of \u201cbayanihan,\u201d a Filipino core value emphasizing community unity and collective action. <\/p>\n \u201cBoth of my parents were public school teachers,\u201d says Al, who was exiled from the Philippines in 1972. \u201cWhen they moved to a village where there were no schools, the parents were so happy their children wouldn\u2019t have to walk to another village to go to school that they built them a home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s only one bedroom but we love it,\u201d says Nenette Alcazar. \u201cIt\u2019s the right size for two people.\u201d <\/p>\n Like his childhood home in the village of Cag-abaca, Al says his and Nenette\u2019s ADU \u201cfelt like a community built it somewhere and carried it into the garden for us to live in.\u201d Only in this instance, the home was not a Nipa hut made of bamboo but a home made of steel panels manufactured in a factory in Gardena and installed on-site.<\/p>\n Jay Alcaraz, 40, and Campbell, 43, had been renting a house in Long Beach for three years when they started looking for a home to buy in 2022. Initially, they had hoped to stay in Long Beach, but when they realized they couldn\u2019t afford it, they broadened their search to include Harbor Gateway. \u201cIt was equidistant to my job as a professor of critical studies at USC, and Jay\u2019s job as a senior product manager at Stamps.com near LAX,\u201d Campbell says.<\/p>\n When they eventually purchased a three-bedroom Midcentury home that needed some work, they were delighted to find themselves in a neighborhood filled with multigenerational households within walking distance of Asian supermarkets and restaurants.<\/p>\n The ADU does not overwhelm the backyard. \u201cIt looks like a house in a garden,\u201d says Al Alcazar. <\/p>\n \u201cWe can walk to everything,\u201d says Jay. \u201cThe post office. The deli. The grocery store. We love Asian food, and can eat at a different Asian restaurant every day.\u201d <\/p>\n Adds Campbell: \u201cWe got the same thing we had in Long Beach here, plus space for an ADU.\u201d<\/p>\n At a time when multigenerational living is growing among older men and women in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center<\/a>, it\u2019s not surprising that the couple began considering an ADU for Jay\u2019s parents soon after purchasing their home, knowing that Al and Nenette, who no longer drives, would feel comfortable in the neighborhood. <\/p>\n They started by reviewing ADUs that the city has pre-approved for construction as part of the ADU Standard Plan Program<\/a> on the city\u2019s Building and Safety Department website<\/a>. The initiative, organized by former L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti\u2019s office in collaboration with Building and Safety in 2021, was designed to simplify the lengthy permitting process and help create more housing. <\/p>\n The 570-square-foot house has a single bedroom and bathroom. <\/p>\n Jay and Al Alcazar have coffee in the kitchen of the ADU.<\/p>\n They reached out to several potential architects and secured a line of credit for $300,000. They decided to go with Cover<\/a> after touring its facility and one of its completed ADUs. \u201cWe liked that they were local and their facility was five minutes away from us,\u201d Campbell says. <\/p>\n The couple originally envisioned removing their backyard pergola and lawn and adding an L-shaped ADU. But after consulting with Rivas, they decided on a rectangular unit with large-format glass sliders and warm wood cladding to preserve the yard.<\/p>\n The configuration was the right choice, as the green space between the two homes, which includes a deck and drought-tolerant landscaping, serves as a social hub for both couples, who enjoy grilling, sharing meals at the outdoor dining table and gardening. Just a few weeks ago, the family celebrated Al\u2019s 77th birthday in the garden along with their extended family. <\/p>\n Nenette, a self-described \u201cgreen thumb,\u201d is delighted by the California garden\u2019s bounty, including oranges, lemons, guava trees and camellias. \u201cI can see the palm trees moving back and forth and the hummingbirds in the morning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a lot of fun,\u201d Jay Alcazar says of his parents. \u201cThey are great dinner companions.\u201d <\/p>\n Although some young couples might hesitate to live close to their parents and in-laws, Jay and Campbell see their ADU as a convenient way to stay close and support Jay\u2019s parents as they age in place. <\/p>\n Besides, Jay says, they\u2019re a lot of fun. \u201cThey are great dinner companions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Campbell, who enjoys having coffee on the outdoor patio with Al, agrees. \u201cWhen I met them for the first time 12 years ago, they had a group over for dinner and hosted a karaoke party until 3 a.m.,\u201d he said. \u201cI was like, \u2018Is this a regular thing?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n A teak bed from the Philippines and family mementos help to make the new ADU feel like home. <\/p>\n Unlike the Alcazars\u2019 spacious 1966 home in New Orleans, their new ADU\u2019s interiors are modern and simple, with white oak floors and cabinets and Bosch appliances, including a stackable washer and dryer. Despite downsizing a lifetime of belongings, Al and Nenette were able to keep a few things that help make the ADU feel like home. In the living room, mother of pearl lamps and wood-carved side tables serve as a reminder of their old house. In their bedroom, a hand-carved teak bed from the Philippines, still showing signs of water damage from Hurricane Katrina, was built by artisans in Nenette\u2019s family.<\/p>\n \u201cMadonna and Jack Nicholson both ordered this bed,\u201d Nenette says proudly.<\/p>\n The couple chose a thermally processed wood cladding for its warmth. \u201cIt will develop a silver hue over time,\u201d says Alexis Rivas of Cover. \u201cIt\u2019s zero maintenance.\u201d <\/p>\n But one thing didn\u2019t work out in their move West. When they realized their sofa would take up too much room in the 8-foot portable storage pod they rented in New Orleans, they decided to purchase an IKEA sleeper sofa in L.A. It\u2019s now in the mix along with their personal artifacts and family photos that further add memories to the interiors, including a reproduction of the Last Supper, a common tradition in many Filipino homes<\/a> symbolizing the importance of coming together to share meals. With limited storage, the families share the two-car garage, where Al stores his tools.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s only one bedroom, but we love it,\u201d says Nenette, 79, of the ADU, which cost $380,000. \u201cIt\u2019s just the right size for two people.\u201d <\/p>\n
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