DELAND, Fla. – Construction crews are building Volusia County’s first transitional tiny-home community in DeLand, a pilot project aimed at moving people off the streets and into stable housing.
The development is taking shape on a small field just off Palmetto Avenue. By March, the site will be transformed into a tiny-home village made from repurposed shipping containers.
DeLand only began allowing tiny homes late last year as a way to expand affordable housing options. One of the first organizations to act on that change was the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia, which recently broke ground on the project — four years in the making.
“We’ve been able to fundraise about $795,000 for this project. We’re anticipating it to cost $1.2 million, so we’re still looking for donations,” said Savannah-Jane Griffin, the organization’s CEO.
Griffin says shipping containers were chosen for practical reasons.
“We’re using shipping containers because of the durability and the affordability. We’re a non-profit organization, so we’re looking for what is the most durable and affordable house that we could put on a property where we’ll be able to house up to 16 individuals,” Griffin said.
The community will provide transitional housing for up to two years for individuals coming out of the Neighborhood Center’s emergency shelters as they work to rebuild their lives. Residents will pay a portion of their earnings toward housing costs.
“They’ll pay 30% of their income for housing and really just give them time to save money so they can get into a permanent housing,” Griffin said.
Once the shipping containers are on-site, Griffin says the organization will add patios, furniture and other amenities to make each unit comfortable and livable.
Griffin says the need for this kind of housing is significant. The new city ordinance allowing tiny homes has opened a door the Neighborhood Center hopes to walk through — and keep open.
“In Volusia County, the data shows that we’re about 55,000 short in affordable housing units for the individuals that need them,” Griffin said.
“My hope is that this could lead to more projects like this in the future,” Griffin said.