Veterans tiny home village begins taking shape with big year ahead

The first four walls are up on a home that will become part of a Sioux Falls tiny home village for veterans.

“It’s been a crazy month but especially the last couple days,” said Eric Gage, executive director of the Veterans Community Project in Sioux Falls.

That was two days before more than 7 inches of snow fell — and just as the first framed walls had been transported to the future village in northwest Sioux Falls and the first house had been framed up.

The village is at 376 N. Willow Ave. on property donated by the city of Sioux Falls. A team of city employees found the model for the veterans tiny home project while working through a leadership development program.

“About a month ago, the civil contractor turned the property over to our general contractor, the first five houses had foundations poured, and the porches were poured on the front of it after that,” Gage said. “Everything has a caveat of weather, but right now they’re going to keep framing and sheeting the first five houses.”

The goal is to “keep plugging away at all of those, and once we get them sealed up and powered, we can get them heated and work on all the stuff that goes inside,” he continued.

Through the winter, that will mean flooring, paint, tile, cabinetry and countertops.

“We’re hoping to keep moving forward on that and get them prepared over February, and if all goes well, we’ll be able to do an open house in March.”

Helping along the way have been Harrisburg High School students, part of a construction education partnership in partnership with the Home Builders Association of the Sioux Empire.

“They have been amazing to work with,” Gage said. “Those kids and their instructors have just gone gangbusters on our walls. They are truly impressive.”

The students assembled walls for the first houses ahead of schedule and will be working through the school year on homes that won’t be built until the spring.

“We’re just really excited for the progress being made,” Gage said. “As we work toward the new year in the next few months we’ll not only complete these houses but start providing services.”

The village will include 25 houses, a combination of 240-square-foot and 320-square-foot family homes capable of technically housing up to seven people.

“It would be very tight and very specific ages, but an average small family of four can easily fit in there,” Gage said. “We loft all our ceilings, so it’s easy to accommodate bunk beds.”

About two weeks before homes are ready to move in, veterans will be screened to see if the program is a fit.

“If a person is in need of our service and we’re not ready, we don’t want them to wait for us,” Gage said. “If there’s a spot when they’re ready to make a change, we want them to say yes to whatever opportunity is available.”

The village also will include an eventual village center as well as a volunteer hub. Fundraising for the hub, which is estimated at $250,000 to $300,000 is a priority, he said.

“It’s the size of an oversized three-stall garage, and it’s where all our volunteer and donation activities will operate,” Gage said. “Because of the nature of the building, it can be used for staging during construction, so initially it would be a garage where materials are staged and furniture is assembled and volunteers will be briefed.”

Ultimately, there will be one caseworker per eight to 10 residents, which demands significant ongoing fundraising, he added.

The goal is to combat veteran homelessness by providing dignified homes with wraparound services to help veterans ultimately move out and achieve sustainable housing.

“What we do is very special, very unique, very impactful but also very expensive,” he said. “Building costs continually are expanding, and luckily the generosity of the Sioux Falls community has been great. We’re getting a lot of materials donated, but we’re always in search of additional operating funds.”