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A brand new village of tiny homes is rising where rent starts at only $US300 ($430) per month.<\/p>\n
In Iowa, a brand-new village of tiny homes is rising where rent starts at just $US300 ($434) a month. Homes come with their own bedroom and kitchenette, and a 19th-century schoolhouse is being transformed into a community hub with a gym, a chapel and free healthcare. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s a catch, though \u2014 and it\u2019s the best kind.<\/p>\n
The village is reserved exclusively for people who have been living on the streets.<\/p>\n
Joppa, a Des Moines-based homeless outreach non-profit, has cleared its final regulatory hurdles to build what it\u2019s calling Joppa Village, a 54-unit tiny home community at 2501 Maury St. designed to give the city\u2019s chronically homeless population a permanent place to land. <\/p>\n
City officials have signed off on plans to gut and repurpose the long-vacant former Chesterfield School \u2014 a structure that dates to around 1890, built just as the surrounding town of Chesterfield was being absorbed into Des Moines \u2014 into the beating heart of the new neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
The Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a conditional-use permit allowing the 15,000-square-foot building to be converted into a full community centre, complete with a 5,000-square-foot gymnasium addition. <\/p>\n
City planning documents envision the space offering communal dining, a kitchen, worship facilities, storage and on-site healthcare services for residents.<\/p>\n
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The tiny home\u2019s village will take place at a former 1880s schoolhouse site, which will be the community center and Joppa plans to break ground later this year, with the first residents expected to move in by 2027. Photo: Des Moines Heritage Trust<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful for the Des Moines City Council and City staff\u2019s support of the Joppa Village project to help address homelessness in our community,\u201d Joe Stevens, Joppa\u2019s CEO and co-founder, said in a press release. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis approval allows us to provide permanent supportive housing to individuals who would otherwise be chronically homeless. Addressing such a complex issue requires collaboration, and we are excited to work alongside the City and other community partners to deliver one of many needed solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The homes themselves run between 192 and 384 square feet and include a full bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchenette. <\/p>\n
Monthly rents range from $US300 to $US700 ($430-$1,014) depending on size. The 54 units will be spread across a mix of single homes, duplexes, and triplexes, with four set aside for Joppa staff and volunteers who will live among the residents.<\/p>\n
To qualify, prospective residents must meet federal criteria for chronic homelessness, which means having a disability or substance use disorder, enduring at least a year of continuous homelessness, or cycling through three or more separate homeless episodes within the last three years. <\/p>\n
MORE<\/p>\n
Man moves into DIY tiny house to avoid paying rent<\/a><\/p>\n