As Bloomington-Normal tries to address its housing shortage, a new developer is attempting an outside-the-box solution.
Rebecca Johnson, or DJ, is CEO and founder of COII, a company looking to design long-term, cost-effective homes focused on sustainability and wellness.
“The concept is a modern, sustainable living development,” DJ said in an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas. “So that means that this concept is going to be all native landscaping, starting from the ground up, and then our homes are high performance, passive house-designed homes.”
A passive house concept aims to utilize natural resources in home construction and placement. For example, DJ said homes are built facing north and south so windows either face or avoid the sun intentionally.
The homes are also meant to be high-performance as a result of their layouts.
“We’re doing a double studded plant-derived insulation,” said DJ. “So, that’s going to help with, again, energy savings on the home. So, without even solar panels, we would get to only needing a 6.5-kilowatt solar system to bring the home down to around net zero without a battery pack.”
COII has purchased property at 1029 Maple Hill Road, between Marcus Theaters and Interstate 74 on the west side of Bloomington, and plans 22 homes for sale, including 12 townhomes. The homes will be built after they are purchased.
DJ said families could move into their first 14 homes as soon as December of this year, and the remaining eight are planned for winter 2027.
Inspiration from the world of architecture
DJ said her father exposed her early to Frank Lloyd Wright homes, and her mom was a fan of Walt Disney and his Epcot park. Both lead to her inspiration to use mindful architecture as a housing solution.
“I grew up in a pioneering home, so those are the roots of the concepts,” she said. “And then I was sitting in my garage in my Tesla and thinking, ‘Wow, my car is so advanced, but my house is not.’”
DJ said she does not believe the American home has advanced in technology to create better building practices. That's where COII may have an opening.
“Being an educator, I also saw the importance of home living for kids and for families, and we just need to advance that in order to kind of catch up with everything else, like AI and [electric vehicles]…and we’d like to have lower bills as well,” she said.
DJ is an educator teaching music and theater as well as a small-business owner, running a private voice studio for 15 years in Downtown Bloomington. She believes both are bringing her to a fruitful housing solution.
“I took the vision and just started one day at a time bringing together the people that could move that vision forward was really key,” she said, “and then moving that vision forward with Ryan Reber, who has built sustainable homes before.”
Housing solution and lower bills
Since DJ’s vision for a new housing solution occurred in her garage in 2022, the housing shortage in the Twin Cities has worsened. She believes her proposed homes are a solution to that problem and others as well.
“We have a sustainability challenge, we have bills, cost savings,” said DJ. “There are things that are out of our control, like supply costs and the cost of development infrastructure can be a very heavy cost, but if you’re creative and looking for what I call the ‘holes between the trees’ … then you can start lowering bills.”
DJ said she estimates a 50% reduction in energy bills for those living in a home built by COII.
That comes from some early models from homes in Urbana, Illinois, she said, which are a similar concept to her homes. They’re called equinox homes.
“[Equinoxes] uses a [Structural Insulated Panels] system…where we’re using a double frame system, and they also have solar panels that are separate from the house,” she said. “Our homes will offer solar panels if the homeowner would like them.”
One of the other solutions the homes contain utilizes water reclamation. It is a solution DJ admitted is still being worked out.
“The rainwater reclamation will take rain from the roof, it’ll go down a rain chain into a cistern, about a 1,500-gallon cistern, that will be used then for toilet water and for landscaping water on the homeowner’s property,” she said. “So, that’s where you’re getting a lot of savings as well, and it’s a great way to conserve water in our community.”
Return on investment
Just like electric vehicles, a renewable energy solution home requires an upfront cost that takes time to pay off.
“We’re looking at probably over 10 to 20 years to recoup some of these funds, and we look forward to this first development, because it could project more than that,” DJ said. “Of course, 50% is pretty conservative data.”
“So, we’d be looking at, price range between $390,000 to $590,000 depending on the home style,” she said. “For these types of homes in comparison, if you look on the east and west coast, you’re looking at upwards of over a million dollars for a passive style design, high-performance home.”
DJ said passive homes have seen success already in the state in Chicago.
Pre-sales on the homes could start as soon as this summer.
“We’re not able to do that yet, because we’re still in the process for getting things like covenants and other legal processes completed,” she said.
For the niche community, DJ said she is trying to find buyers who want a different kind of home in terms of design and utility. Something like the Frank Lloyd Wright style she has a lot of personal appreciation for.
“We’re looking to market to people that are looking for something different on the market, that are looking to save money on their bills, that are looking to be proactive in how we’re participating with our environment and our community and people that really look forward to being with other people in a place that’s really rooted in belonging,” she said.
After completion of the homes, DJ said she would like to see a wetlands preserve be made at the north end of the property.
