An Eden Village tiny home
A local group’s plans to build housing for the homeless can now move forward.
Eden Village of Harrisburg is slated to bring tiny homes to South Harrisburg, having received City Council approval on Monday.
“I love the project,” said council member Jocelyn Rawls. “This is one of our most vulnerable populations, so to give them housing, like you said, that’s step one.”
The project was proposed by a group of area residents who have partnered with Missouri-based Eden Village to bring 32 tiny homes and a community center to 1103 S. Front St.
The community will be built near the PennDOT building and next to Veteran’s Grove, a tiny house community for veterans, and Tunnel to Towers, another housing facility for veterans slated for construction.
Eden Village plans to build 400-square-foot units that include a bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. Units will offer long-term housing.
Additionally, Eden Village will provide access to other resource providers to address issues such as mental health and substance abuse.
“If we can get them into a house, we can work on everything else,” said Robert Lawson, an Eden Village board member. “So if we start with the house that’s affordable and that’s safe, we can take care of all of those other issues.”
People will need to apply to be considered for a home in Eden Village and are expected to pay $300 in rent each month.
Council member Crystal Davis expressed concern over the cost of rent, saying that she believes some unhoused people won’t be able to afford it.
However, Khary Lane, board president of Eden Village, said that, from his understanding, many unhoused people receive disability and Social Security benefits and have access to housing vouchers.
Despite her concern, Davis, along with all other council members, voted in favor of the project.
Additionally, council approved the city’s submission of a grant application to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Community Conservation Partnership Program Nonmotorized Trail Grant Program for $150,000. The grant, which the city applied for in partnership with the Capital Area Greenbelt Association, would help CAGA relocate part of the Greenbelt in South Harrisburg.
A section of the Greenbelt has been detoured and will need to be permanently rerouted due to the three tiny home construction projects in the area near the PennDOT building.
CAGA has proposed rerouting the Greenbelt to turn onto Sycamore Street from S. Front Street, just before the PennDOT building. The trail would then follow Sycamore over the railroad tracks and veer right through one of two privately owned lots, before Cameron Street, and then connect with the current trail near Shanois Street.
CAGA has not yet reached agreements with land owners and so they will conduct the relocation in two phases, said Doug Hill, CAGA president. The first phase will cover the Greenbelt move up until it would enter private property and is estimated to cost $1.2 million. Additional money will come from other grants and CAGA funds.
Hill said that CAGA has already spoken to neighboring Greenbelt businesses and communities about the move and plans to complete outreach to the broader community, as well.
For more information about Eden Village of Harrisburg, visit their website. To learn more about the Capital Area Greenbelt Association, visit their website.
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