Construction has begun on frame houses for New Spirit Village. When warmer weather arrives, a robotic extruder similar to the one pictured above will be brought in to begin construction of the first 3D-printed homes.

An idea from more than two years ago for a new west Medford affordable housing development composed of 3D-printed homes is turning into something concrete this summer.

Construction of New Spirit Village homes got underway last week, but with one major change: Instead of all 3D-printed homes, some will be traditional frame houses.

“Our objective has always been to build affordable housing for those displaced by the Almeda Fire,” developer Barry Thalden said.

“Building 3D-printed concrete houses is still new and experimental. We don’t want to confuse our objective with our experiment,” he said.

“Although we still plan to build 3D concrete-printed walls, winter is not the time to use that modality, so most of the first homes will be wood-framed construction.”

Streets, sidewalks and utilities are already in place for 22 of the planned 87 homes, the first of which is slated to be completed this summer, with all 22 completed by the end of the year.

Five or six of the 22 will be concrete.

“We hope to start printing concrete homes this summer,” Thalden said.

Instead of using conventional materials like steel, aluminum and lumber, 3D-printed walls will be built by a computer program-powered robot extruder, squeezing a proprietary cement mixture out of a nozzle, layer upon layer, following the architect’s drawings.

All city approvals have been acquired for New Spirit Village and building permits have been issued.

Thalden and his wife, Kathryn, established the Ashland-based nonprofit Thalden Foundation to support the arts and provide new opportunities for those in need.

The foundation was the initial funding contributor for New Spirit Village, located on a 6.1-acre site on Meadows Lane, just south and east of the intersection of West Main Street and Lozier Lane.

The plan is to have an equal number of one-, two- and three-bedroom homes, depending on demand.

“The price of homes will be below $195,000 for a one-bedroom and below $249,000 for a three-bedroom in an area where the average home price is $463,000,” Thalden said.

Outlier Construction of Medford is the project’s general contractor.

“Creating home ownership is a significant part of the solution to the housing crisis,” Thalden said. “When a new homebuyer moves out of a rental unit, it makes that rental unit available to those who are in temporary shelters, which ultimately opens those beds to allow homeless people to get off the streets and out of the public parks.”

Barry Thalden founded, and led for 43 years, what became a nationally known architecture firm with offices in St. Louis, Tulsa, Phoenix and Las Vegas. His experience includes designing tens of thousands of residential units from coast to coast.

Kathryn Thalden founded and operated a city planning and landscape architecture firm in Kansas City and later was the founding minister of the Unity Church of Green Valley in Henderson, Nevada.

The Thaldens said more than 20 community service organizations, along with state representatives, have been involved in the process of developing New Spirit Village.

Normally, lenders can provide mortgages up to 75% or 80% of the appraised value.

“Since we are selling these homes at less than 70% of appraised value, lenders can provide mortgages at the full price of the house, with no down payment,” Thalden said.

Which raises the question: How can they deliver single-family houses at those affordable prices?

“New Spirit Village is a nonprofit corporation that requires no overhead or profit,” Thalden said. “Kathryn and I are donating our time and talent as developers.”

Other factors he cited that help achieve affordability include:

• Cost-efficient, architect-designed plans.

• A high density of 15 units per acre, which reduces the per-lot costs of roads, utilities and land compared to a typical quarter-acre lot subdivision.

• Grants from the state, United Way, Oregon Community Foundation, and Thalden Foundation.

The Thaldens provided initial charitable contributions that funded portions of the project, such as design costs, down payment reductions, and a community center with a laundry, community kitchen, community gardens and a playground.

None of the homes is pre-sold, but there is a waiting list for interested buyers maintained by ACCESS, Jackson County’s community action agency that provides food, warmth, shelter and other services to low-income children, families, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.

Priority will be given to families that still do not have permanent housing three years after losing their homes in the Almeda Fire.

For more information about the development and how to apply for home ownership, visit newspiritvillage.org.