Tiny House Village For Homeless In Worcester Delayed, But Still Moving Ahead

WORCESTER, MA — An innovative and badly needed tiny house project for chronically homeless Worcester residents was projected to open last year, but construction on the Stafford Street village may still be months away due to a change in the project’s original sponsor.

Plans for the 21-unit tiny house village along were announced in July 2021, a time when Worcester's homeless population was on the rise following the outbreak of COVID-19. Homelessness has continued to rise in the city, coinciding with a severe shortage of affordable housing across the state.

The village was originally a collaboration between the nonprofit East Side Community Development Corp. and the real estate developer Civico. Since the mid-1980s, the East Side CDC has mounted many housing projects in an area roughly between Shrewsbury Street and Green Hill Park, plus projects like a Guild of St. Agnes daycare center, and a program teaching construction skills to young people in Worcester.

After the tiny village project was announced, East Side CDC Executive Director Donna Warshaw sought to merge the nonprofit with another CDC as she moved toward retirement. The East Side CDC is now being folded into Worcester Community Housing Resources, a countywide CDC that manages affordable and specialized housing units, plus facilities like the Heywood Wakefield Commons assisted living center in Gardner.

WCHR Executive Director Jennifer Schanck-Bolwell said the tiny house project is still moving along as the merger moves toward completion. WCHR last week took over management of the East Side CDC's properties, and Civico is continuing to plan for the tiny house village construction. Schanck-Bolwell said WCHR still needs to obtain financing for the village, which could happen before the end of 2024. Construction would follow.

The status of the Stafford Street village has been questioned by city councilors in recent weeks. During a discussion on Feb. 6 about a proposal to allow homeless encampments in city parks, At-Large Councilor Kate Toomey asked City Manager Eric Batista for an update on the village; Batista said the project had not found financing, and was in search of an organization to provide on-site services. Toomey responded at the Feb. 13 council meeting by asking Batista for a report on possible sites around the city to build more tiny house villages.

Schanck-Bolwell said the tiny house village would be targeted at local people who are state Department of Mental Health clients. The village would also offer wraparound services overseen by the nonprofit Open Sky Community Services. Once residents move in, they would be able to lease units in the village for as long as they want to stay. The units would also be available for people who want to stabilize before moving to more traditional housing.

The tiny house village is one of several current and planned projects in Worcester to move residents off the streets and into permanent homes. WCHR is also in the midst of converting the Quality Inn hotel off Lincoln Street into 90 units for chronically homeless people with onsite wraparound services. The Worcester Housing Authority recently opened a 24-unit building along Lewis Street, providing micro-units and wraparound services for the chronically homeless.

Worcester is also still dealing with the loss of Hotel Grace, a longstanding 60-bed cold weather shelter that closed for good at the end of the 2021 winter season. The city has brokered solutions over the last two winters to open shelters at the Blessed Sacrament church in 2022, and at the former RMV location downtown this winter. Worcester also explored erecting a Pallet village last year — similar in style to a tiny house village, but only temporary. Pallet shelters were used in Boston to rehome people cleared from the Mass and Cass encampment. Catholic activists in New Haven, Conn., erected six Pallet shelters in the backyard of a home in that city, but were told to by city leaders to shut the village down.

When complete, Worcester's tiny house village for the chronically homeless will be a first in Massachusetts. Tiny house villages have been built in other states — including Maine, Oregon and California — as a way to create ultra-affordable housing for the homeless relatively quickly and cheaply. The cost of the Stafford Street village was initially estimated at about $5 million.

"The tiny homes model is a growing trend across the country," Schanck-Bolwell said. "It's a successful model, and creates a true sense of community."