A BRAND-new tiny home village is set to open next month with 60 fully furnished rent free units up for grabs.
The new village will be opening near Tacoma’s South Hosmer Street in the coming weeks.
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Dubbed Kingfisher Village by developers the project is expected to open on July 21.
The collection of tiny homes will be able to house around 70-75 people.
Each is 8 feet by 12 feet and comes fully equipped with beds and furnishings.
The village will include case-management offices, a common kitchen, community space, security fencing, plumbed showers, laundry facilities, 24/7 staff offices, storage and parking.
It will reportedly serve couples and individuals experiencing homelessness in the Tacoma area.
People will be referred to Kingfisher Village as part of the state’s Encampment Resolution program.
Kingfisher is a partnership between Pierce County and the Low-Income Housing Institute (LIHI).
LIHI has operated other tiny-home villages with the same model before, most in the Seattle area.
The Kingfisher site will reportedly cost $2 million to construct and will be built with the help of volunteers and high schoolers.
The county is reported to have contributed more than $1.9 million to fund the property acquisition.
Some of the funding was made available to Pierce County through the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Right of Way Encampment Resolution Program.
LIHI have said the long term goal for the site is the development of affordable housing.
The organisation told the News Tribune: “Our long-term goal for the site is to build multifamily workforce housing that will help contribute to the positive growth that is happening in the community.”
Units in the village come ready to be lived in with everything someone might need.
Utilities are all hooked up and operating and furniture, including a bed, is installed and ready to use.
The site will feature everything a person might need and offers a long list of amenities.
People experiencing homelessness can be referred to the Kingfisher project.
They will then be housed in one of the units alongside other individuals who need housing.
What is a tiny home?
Technically, a tiny home is any house measuring under 400 square feet.
Many tiny homes are built on trailers so they can be towed anywhere, and some are converted from old school buses or vans.
Each state has its own rules about tiny homes, but, generally, they are not subject to the same taxes as regular homes.
However, Alaska, Iowa, Louisiana, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, and West Virginia have made tiny homes illegal as permanent dwellings.
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