San Francisco Will Set up Tiny Properties For Homeless at Parking Lot
33 Gough Street, DignityMoves founder Elizabeth Funk (Google Maps, Dignity Capital)
Tiny homes didn’t affect the U.S. housing and homeless crisis as some had predicted, but after years of resistance, San Francisco will install the housing in two parking lots the city has rented.
Seventy of the units – 64 square feet each – will be built at 33 Gough Street, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The land has been a city-sanctioned “safe sleeping village” with 44 tents for the homeless since December.
The tiny houses will be similar to those in Oakland and San Jose, the report said.
Each tiny home has a steel frame and 2 inch thick walls. The living units have a desk, a bed and a window and are heated. The property will have dining areas, storage rooms and bathrooms.
Nonprofits, DignityMoves, and Tipping Point Community will fund the $ 1.7 million cost to build and build the homes, the report said. The structures will remain on the property for 18 months until the city’s lease for the parking spaces expires. It is not clear what will happen after that.
Los Angeles’ efforts to install tiny homes for the homeless last winter sparked a backlash when a report showed that each 64-square-foot home would cost $ 130,000, if you factor in the infrastructure necessary to create it the community is required. The production of the structures should only cost around 8,500 pieces.
San Francisco has over 8,000 homeless, a number that has likely increased during the pandemic, experts said. The city will be raised around $ 800 million in funding to solve the problem, monies from a new tax along with state and federal dollars.
In addition to the tiny houses, city officials are also considering buying more properties for the homeless, including the potential to use empty apartments across the city and opening a RV park, the report said.
“Having your own room and a lockable door makes a huge difference,” said Elizabeth Funk, founder and director of DignityMoves, the Chronicle.
Those currently staying in the tents at 33 Gough Street will be offered spots in the tiny homes if they haven’t found accommodation before they open.
[SFC] – Victoria Pruitt
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