Due to the sour economy, 1 in 5 American families are adopting the multi-generational living style. The home builder, Lennar, is hoping their new 2-in-1 designs will attract buyers back to the new home market. The idea being the homes will appeal to families moving in together and pooling financial resources. Very wise...

Putting extended families under 1 roof
By Alejandro Lazo | Tribune Newspapers | 11.27.2011

Home is where not only the heart is these days — but also the elderly parents, the boomerang kids and the aging-in-place boomer homeowners.  To accommodate the new generations-stacked-upon-generations lifestyle spawned by one of the most severe economic downturns in decades, builder Lennar Corp. is focusing on houses with something few others on the block can boast about: another house. The company has built two San Bernardino County, Calif., models of its so-called NextGen designs for its master-planned Rosena Ranch community. Like a Russian nesting doll with a smaller doll inside, the new residential design incorporates a smaller home with a separate front entrance, kitchenette, bathroom and bedroom....