Springfield’s third tiny home community to house the chronically homeless will hopefully begin moving residents in by end of the 2024, according to The Gathering Tree Inc. The nonprofit broke ground for Eden Village 3 in late 2022 at 2419 W. High in the Tom Watkins neighborhood and is using 3D technology to print the homes.
“Eden Village 3 will include 12 duplexes and a neighborhood clubhouse. The plan is to start printing these homes in the late spring,” said Cheyenne Guzman, executive and administrative assistant for Eden Village and The Gathering Tree Inc.
Each duplex unit will have one bedroom and one bathroom. The community itself will be modeled after Eden Village 2 in the Bissett neighborhood, which is a gated community with security cameras, a community center, tornado shelter and a neighborhood council. Eden Village 2 is an active member of the Bissett Neighborhood Association and allows the association to use its community center for neighborhood association meetings and participates in the annual neighborhood cleanups.
The Gathering Tree has a waiting list of more than 200 people for the tiny homes. The organization has a multistep process for determining who gets a home in the communities. Precedence is given to the terminally ill and veterans, said Nate Schlueter, chief visionary officer.
“Our residents must have been homeless for a year and have the ability to pay rent,” he said.
He noted that The Gathering Tree looks forward to building a relationship with Tom Watkins neighbors similar to how Eden Village 2, which opened in 2020, has with Bissett neighbors. Eden Village 1 opened in 2018 at 2801 E. Division. Each unit costs about $45,000. The Gathering Tree seeks sponsors for each home in the Eden Village communities, which are not limited to Springfield.
Schlueter said the organization has “franchised” communities in Wilmington, North Carolina; Kansas City, Kansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Mountain Home, Arkansas; Excelsior Springs; Phoenix, Arizona; Richmond, Virginia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Warrenton, Virginia.
“Our villages are now a proven model, so they have gotten easier and easier to bring forward,” Schlueter said. “We look forward to working with our neighbors in Tom Watkins.”