As a T-7 paraplegic, West Michigan resident David Ball shares how Sable Homes is building not only an ADA-compliant home for him, but an ADA-compliant home that is also wheelchair accessible. To David, his new Harvest Meadows home through Sable Homes allows him to live and move about with freedom – something he hasn’t been able to do for 13 years.

“This place is being built wheelchair accessible, not just ADA compliant, but it's wheelchair accessible,” David said of his Sable Homes “Freedom” ranch-style home in the Harvest Meadows community in Wayland.

Thirteen years ago, David was injured in a car accident, leaving him paralyzed from his lower torso down to his toes. Bound to a wheelchair, David’s previous living environments, a 1970s-style ranch and then an apartment, had to be modified just for him to be able to live in those spaces.

“They were small,” said David. “It was a pain – there were narrow doors, narrow hallways – and I cut my knuckles several times trying to get in and out of doors.”

When David started looking for a new home to fit his needs, he discovered Sable Homes’ Freedom ranch-style floor plan that provides the handicap-accessible features he desired with modern amenities. With lots available in Wayland’s Harvest Meadows, David was eager to start the design process with Sable Homes.

“The key thing about this place is the front door,” said David. “The fact that there are no steps and then this open floor plan is perfect for somebody in my condition. The bathroom, the bedroom, and the kitchen are the three most important rooms. Those are the things that when I when I came in here, I saw the space here and, I'm thought, ‘Oh, this is sweet!’ It was a huge stress reliever just knowing that I'm getting it done, and when I move in, I'm not going to have to deal with opening up a wall and realizing there’s mold in the wall or anything like when you do a remodel.

“And the willingness for Sable Homes to make the adjustments – there are a lot more people out there who need it than people realize,” David added.

Sable Homes’ Freedom model is a zero-step entry ranch designed with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an open concept layout. It features a spacious kitchen, large dining area, convenient laundry room, and various shelving and pantry height placements – customized to the homeowner’s needs.

“It’s beautiful,” Nicholette Driggs of Disability Advocates of Kent County said of the Sable Homes’ house that David will soon call home. “The accessibility is woven into the design of the home. It’s not an afterthought. You aren't coming in and fixing what's already been built. You're building it from the ground up to be accessible.”

Driggs explained that one of the challenges about ADA is that the ADA doesn't give a lot of guidance when it comes to homes. Because of this, it means the region has a lack of accessible housing.

“In order for a home to be either ADA compliant or really a zero-step inclusive-designed home, it should have things like, wider doorways, wider hallways, zero-step entry and exits, and countertops at different heights,” she said. “If a home doesn't isn't built in a way that will address those barriers, we're building more barriers for people being able to get into those homes.”

With the Freedom floor model, Sable Homes is filling the gap of accessible homes in West Michigan, and customizing the design to accommodate the homeowner’s needs.

“I can't say enough and how much I really do appreciate this,” David said. “I wanted to make sure that the place that I moved into is a place that I'm going to feel comfortable staying at for the rest of my life.

“This is going to be my home.”

Throughout our video series, watch David’s journey of acquiring an ADA complaint and wheelchair accessible home through Sable Homes.

In this first segment, watch David Ball share the importance of being able to live in an ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible home and how Sable Homes is making that a reality for him.

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