{"id":1408,"date":"2026-06-23T11:12:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T11:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1408"},"modified":"2026-06-23T11:12:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T11:12:37","slug":"the-demand-is-real-for-backyard-cottages-in-law-suites-and-other-adus-says-a-philly-area-builder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1408","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018demand is real\u2019 for backyard cottages, in-law suites, and other ADUs, says a Philly-area builder"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Homeowners across the Philadelphia region want to build garage apartments, in-law suites, and backyard cottages on their properties.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1406\">\ud83e\ude7a A win for nurses in Mount Holly | Inquirer South Jersey<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Mario Mascioli, owner of Acorn Built Homes, said he gets hundreds of inquiries per month for these accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which have made up the bulk of Mascioli\u2019s business since his company opened in late 2024.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe demand is real,\u201d said Mascioli, who works across southeastern Pennsylvania and in Princeton. And builders like him are ready to create ADUs. But municipalities\u2019 varying and often restrictive land-use rules often make that difficult.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Pennsylvania lawmakers are currently considering legislation that would allow homeowners to create ADUs in places that are zoned for single-family houses without having to get special permission. The bill passed the state House earlier this month and is now before a state Senate committee.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Allowing for the construction of ADUs is part of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s plan to increase the state\u2019s housing supply and provide Pennsylvanians with more affordable housing options.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Mascioli has testified before state lawmakers to advocate for the loosening of restrictions for ADUs.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt would mean that homeowners that want these \u2014 which are plenty of them \u2014 would be able to get it done quickly, more economically, favorably,\u201c he said. \u201dIt would be fantastic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The Inquirer talked to Mascioli about the ADU landscape.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><i>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/i> <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h5>Why do people want ADUs?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The three drivers for why people want them are: aging-in-place elderly parents; adult children that can\u2019t afford rent or can\u2019t afford to buy a home; and third, people want rental income.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h5>What types of ADUs do you offer?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>We build studios as small as 240 square feet. [But] most people want a space that has at least 500 square feet. Most opt for one or two bedrooms.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>We [also] do additions. We do garage conversions. We do conversions of basements.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>In many cases, we have to attach an ADU as an addition to a house because of the township requirements. And in many cases, we\u2019re limited as to the features we can put into it, because of those requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1405\">House of the week: A six-bedroom Victorian twin in University City for $689,000<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h5>What\u2019s something that clients have asked for that they weren\u2019t able to get because of local land-use rules?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019ll give you a real-time example. We start every project with what we call our \u201cfeasibility and scoping\u201d phase. That takes about four or so weeks to dial in on what\u2019s buildable from a structural, construction, architectural, and also an approvable perspective.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>We have a customer we\u2019re in the final phase of that study with. They have a beautiful property, plenty of land. They wanted a detached ADU for the couple\u2019s mother, who\u2019s going to be moving up from Florida to take care of their newborn, [who is due] in December. In this case, we can\u2019t do a detached unit without going through a variance.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>We also uncovered through our feasibility process that \u2026 if we were to extend the garage and build on top of it, that would require a variance.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Third thing is there\u2019s a floodplain that runs through the property. And any modification to the footprint of the property would also be a variance.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Those are three separate variance processes, each of which would require attorneys and fees and zoning hearing boards.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>So what we\u2019re left building[without zoning approvals] is to raise up the loft on the second floor of the garage, put some dormers in it to make it more spacious, and create a one-bedroom living space there \u2014 butwithout a full kitchen with built-in cooking facilities. We can only put a kitchenette in.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>That is very typical. That\u2019s 90% of what we deal with as it relates to ADUs.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h5>What\u2019s different about building an ADU vs. a typical single-family home?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Basically, the red tape impedes or kills [ADU] projects before they start. And that is because there\u2019s over 2,500 municipalities in Pennsylvania. Each with different zoning rules as it relates to ADUs.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>In some townships, you can build one with no issues. But if you step, you know, a mile over the line in any direction, it\u2019s either banned entirely or there are so many restrictions and other requirements that it takes [a] very long [time], if at all, to get through zoning hearing boards.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Permitting and the expense of the red tape can make many projects impractical.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<h5>Why did you decide to go into the ADU business in Pennsylvania with the challenges you\u2019ve described?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>If you look at things from a national perspective, 20 states have passed legislation like Pennsylvania currently has in its legislature.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>People want them. That\u2019s about affordable housing. I thought and still believe that it would be inevitable that ultimately Pennsylvania would pass such legislation. And if we were here in advance of that, establishing ourselves in the market, we would benefit from that legislation being passed.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1403\">Who might threaten the Eagles\u2019 NFC East three-peat? We assessed the state of the division.<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow homeowners to build accessory dwelling units in places zoned for single-family housing without having to get special permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing","category-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The \u2018demand is real\u2019 for backyard cottages, in-law suites, and other ADUs, says a Philly-area builder - Corporate Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1408\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The \u2018demand is real\u2019 for backyard cottages, in-law suites, and other ADUs, says a Philly-area builder - 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