This undated rendering provided by the City of St. Louis shows tiny homes for homeless people. (City of St. Louis via AP)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — ST. Louis is the latest city with plans for a village of tiny homes to provide shelter for the homeless, and the funding is coming from a federal program for COVID-19 relief.
Mayor Lyda Krewson on Tuesday announced plans for 50 tiny homes on property near downtown that was previously the site of an RV park. Krewson plans to use $600,000 of the city’s $32 million in federal CARES Act money to build the homes and lease the land. The Board of Estimate and Apportionment must grant final approval.
“This forward-thinking, innovative, and efficient approach to housing has been done in some other cities, but never in St. Louis,” Krewson said in a news release. She said the tiny house community “expands our current capacity to help more people and builds on our longstanding commitment to connecting those in need to more stable housing environments.”
Each house will have a bed, desk, chair, heating and air conditioning. Showers and security will be provided at the village. The city also plans to contract with a social services provider to implement on-site case management and supervision.
Plans call for 40 single homes, eight double homes and two compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The homes are expected to go up quickly — the city anticipates the first residents will move in by Dec. 1.
A second tiny house community is planned in north St. Louis, also with about 50 homes. That village, announced last month, will focus on houses for homeless veterans and is funded in part by the Veterans Community Project based in Kansas City, Missouri.
