More than 50 volunteers clean up the future site of Eden Village
On Saturday, more than 50 volunteers cleaned up the future site of Eden Village, a tiny-home community for disabled, chronically homeless people.
Eden Village is a project of The Gathering Tree, a nonprofit organization that operates an evening drop-in center for homeless people. The Gathering Tree purchased a 4.5-acre tract of land in north Springfield last year.
Eden Village will be located at 2801 E. Division St., the site of a former mobile home park near U.S. 65.
Gathering Tree founders Linda and David Brown say they hope to eventually have 30 tiny homes in the planned gated community.
Linda Brown, who is also a real estate agent, said she has been looking for property for the tiny home community for some time. She found the trailer park that is already complete with concrete pads and utility hook-ups for the manufactured homes.
The homes, which will be manufactured in Athens, Texas, are about 400-square feet with one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchen.
"All we have to do is roll them in and plug them in. And they are good to go," Linda Brown said in an earlier interview. There will be a shared community building with laundry facilities and a large kitchen for entertaining up to 30 guests.
The Browns hope to have the first home set up by the end of April.
Springfield photographer creates video for tiny homes for homeless project
Once they have about 10 homes and the community building at Eden Village, people can begin moving in.
Eden Village will specifically house individuals who qualify as "chronically disabled homeless" by standards of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Residents, many of whom are on disability, will pay their own rent.
According to a news release, Eden Village will be a "place of love, acceptance and abundance that will include a community center with amenities such as a laundromat, internet access and a food pantry.
"The inhabitants will have dignified homes in a community infused with respect and hospitality," the release said. "The Gathering Tree's Eden Village will radically transform Springfield's approach to homelessness and provide a model that can be replicated elsewhere to help address the issues of homelessness."
After land deal, some Springfield homeless will soon move into tiny homes
The total cost of the project, with all 30 homes and community center, will be about $1.8 million.
The Gathering Tree had raised about $90,000, enough for the down payment on the property.
To learn more about the Gathering Tree or to donate, visit thegatheringtree.org.
Follow Eden Village on Facebook at facebook.com/EdenVillageSGF/.