At a church-owned property at 22nd and E Union will rise a new "homeless encampment." Tiny houses will be built. In fact, they have already built one.
According to Capitol Hill Seattle, a group of teenagers who are currently working for Sawhorse Revolution, a non-profit organization, built their first tiny house in the said location.
These two-person homes didn't have much in terms of amenities but they are already good to live in. They already have waterproof and lockable rooms with two major benefits than living in tents.
The land where these homes were built is owned by the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd which has been used as a parking lot for the construction workers on weekdays and as an overflow church parking during the weekends.
Capitol Hill Seattle added that these tiny homes [grouped into village] are the outcomes of the broad collaboration of organizations led by the Low Income Housing Institute and the Nickelsville community.
Several organizations, including the group of teenagers of Sawhorse Revolution contributed to build the 15 two-person capacity houses from their own pockets. They said that in each house, it would cost around $2,200 from the materials alone.
Monica Joe, working for LIHI said, "We really want to get people into these houses with the idea that they will transition into permanent housing."
She also said that they are planning to deliver the rest of the houses for the residents to move in this coming Christmas season.
As of now, the organizers are fixing the electric connection and plumbing at the site in preparation for the move-ins. Sawhorse Revolution are still building the bathroom pavilion as part of its Impossible City project.
LIHI stated that this tiny village they are trying to build right now will be around Seattle with an aim of building a community from the residents of these tiny homes.
Joe said, "We really want it to be a community, and I really think that contributes to a better outcome."
Eagle Tribune reported that even though building tiny homes is the trend nowadays, there are doubts if it would be really appealing in reality.
Jon Staff, the founder and CEO of Getaway said, "We operate them a little bit like hotel rooms in the woods."
Getaway, a company offering tiny houses in New Hampshire for $99 per night and the first project at Harvard's Millennial Housing Lab, has attracted a lot of visitors who would like to try a 160-sq ft. house.
