Brand-new tiny home village with 500-square-foot residences in the works
MELBOURNE: Tiny homes are all the rage in today’s economy, and another brand new village containing the miniature residences is on the way.
The housing project, dubbed Mission View Village, will feature 500-square-foot homes in duplex and triplex style.
The twenty tiny homes are expected to arrive next summer in Grants Pass, a city in southwestern Oregon located roughly 60 miles north of the California border.
The $2.1million community for homeless seniors will be managed by the Christian nonprofit Gospel Rescue Mission.
The Oregon organization is hoping that Mission View Village will offer stability to elderly locals who are unable to afford housing as market prices escalate.
Only seniors who can live independently and are sober will be allowed to live on the 0.9-acre lot on the south side of Grants Pass, Gospel Rescue Mission executive director Brian Bouteller said.
“Even the neighborhood here on Harbeck shouldn’t have too much of a problem,” he said.
“We’re not bringing in folks that are otherwise problematic due to drugs and alcohol, crime and that kind of stuff. These are folks that are largely just, really their biggest fault is not planning well and not planning well for their future.”
The tiny home project is much needed because Americans over age 50 are the fastest growing group of homeless people, said Bouteller.
With rental prices in the region often out of reach, he is hopeful that Mission View Village will be a safe and affordable option for seniors.
Although rent at the tiny home community won’t be free, residents will have to pay a fee of just 30% of their income.
Gospel Rescue Mission also operates a men’s shelter as well as a women and children’s shelter, where residents have to abide by a list of rules.
At Mission View Village, the rules will be less stringent.
“At the Gospel Rescue Mission, somebody coming in off the streets, they’re getting up at 5:30 in the morning. Their day is fairly regimented. But a 70-year-old might not need that same kind of rigor,” Bouteller said.
Residents at the community will have to be age 55 or older and follow the Gospel Rescue Mission’s program, which includes attending church and performing community service.
They will be able to live at the village long-term and will receive support services and financial coaching to help them boost their savings.
Mission View Village will not have an open application, but rather provide housing to people the nonprofit is already working with.
The first half of the homes is expected to open next summer.