Prefab home builder offers Ventura's Thomas Fire victims a chance for a quick restart

The Ventura hillsides where hundreds of homes burned in the Thomas Fire are humming. The whir of bulldozers and jackhammers joins the ranchera and bachata music construction workers play as they measure, cut and fill.

Bright yellow and blue signs proclaim success: “Permits Issued!”

Then, there are the fenced-in sites, the “For Sale” signs on deserted lots that speak to those who opted for a change in direction.

One such household for nearly 18 years owned a home in the 700 block of Skyview Terrace, which requires a drive through winding, narrow roads to get to this particular neighborhood. The owners or investors bought the house in 2000 for $350,000, Zillow shows, but a month after the fire burned the house down, the lot was on the market.  

More:County Supervisor Steve Bennett sues city of Ventura for Thomas Fire records

In March 2018, it sold for $399,000. That’s where Dvele enters the story, offering another family the opportunity for a new start in a different kind of home. A week ago, the company listed its finished product at $1.4 million. 

The home Dvele built has sleek lines and is "healthy," with an air filtration system that runs around the clock to give residents clean, freshly circulated air. The water is clean too, all drinking-grade, according to Brandon Weiss, the company’s chief innovation officer. 

The home is made as airtight as possible and the walls are thoroughly insulated, keeping out dust and other particulates that are especially harmful to those with respiratory disease or sensitivities. Same goes for moisture, which damages a home more than any other element, Weiss said.

The home is better able to withstand fires and earthquakes, built to not just stay standing through the seismic activity but also to remain livable, Weiss said, and the large windows provide a "psychological boost" to people who increasingly are spending time inside.

It also offers an opportunity for, potentially, a quicker timeline to get into a home, without the worries that often accompany rebuilds. There are, for example, no subtractors involved in Dvele's houses, Weiss said, and color palettes and design choices are created to be complementary yet limit choices.

No days of agonizing over 71 fixture options and 103 paint colors. 

"Dvele’s mission with this project is to help those who have lost their homes in the recent fires to rebuild as quickly and as stress-free as possible," Eden Cali, a publicist representing the company told The Star in an email. "The company will also offer discount pricing and waive the design fee completely for fire victims."

Dvele is a California-based luxury homebuilder, but it isn’t a typical builder. From start to nearly finish, its factory-built modular homes are produced off site and trucked in pieces to their ultimate destinations.

284 rebuild permits; 1 modular home

To date, the city has issued 284 rebuild permits and of those, exactly one was a modular home, according to the city's Chief Building Official Yolanda Bundy.

That modular would be by Dvele, which bought another lot and is exploring the idea of buying others. 

Dvele has also bought a couple of lots in the city of Santa Rosa, a Northern California community devastated by wildfire in 2017.

After buying the lot, Dvele submitted plans to the city of Ventura in July 2018. It received its permit on Jan. 31, 2019, Bundy said.

"We reviewed and inspected the components of the home," she said, as the city would for any building plans.

By building the home off site, there's less impact to the neighborhood — fewer truck trips, for example — and a 400-point checklist ensures consistency and quality control, Weiss said.

The home is a way to test the market and gauge interest. The company's broader goal is to help the planet by building (close to) net-zero homes that offer residents the power to see their energy use in real time by appliance and system. To be a net-zero house, Weiss points out, residents must be conscious of their footprint. 

It's also to help residents be their healthiest. Cleaner air means better sleep, which translates to better performance, he said. 

In the weeks and months after the fire, the city implemented several new processes designed to streamline and speed up the rebuild process. It hired outside consultants to review plans and made changes to what was allowed to let people build their dream homes.

Council member Cheryl Heitmann hasn’t seen the house but has been keeping an eye on the rebuild process. The other night, she visited a friend who lost her home in the fire and is now living in her rebuild.

To “see all the rebuilding that is going on there now was inspiring,” she wrote in an email to The Star. “I had a sense of pride at seeing the community being rebuilt and recognizing the endurance of our citizens.”

Bundy said that to date, 65% of all people displaced by the fire are in the process of moving back in. She's hoping to see that percentage steadily creep up in the months ahead.

Arlene Martinez covers local government and energy. Reach her at @amartinez@vcstar.com or 805-437-0262.