Jackie Rehwald

JREHWALD@NEWS-LEADER.COM

The Gathering Tree, a nonprofit organization that operates an evening drop-in center for homeless people, has purchased a 4.5-acre tract of land in north Springfield to create a tiny-home community for disabled, chronically homeless people.

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 invited the public and media to an event Monday held at the Vineyard Church to announce the plans for Eden Village. The Browns say they hope to eventually have 30 tiny homes in the planned gated community.

Also at the event, Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors owner Judy Huntsman presented a check for $30,000 to pay for the first tiny, manufactured home at Eden Village.

"It's time for us to step up to the plate," an emotional Huntsman said. "When I saw these tiny houses, I just said, 'we have to do this.'"

Huntsman then challenged her office to furnish that home.

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 recently found the trailer park that is already complete with concrete pads and utility and sewer hook-ups for the manufactured homes.

"I took that back to the city and they gave me the thumbs up. They said, 'OK, this is good,'' Linda Brown said. "We don't have to rezone. It's already a mobile home park. That is what we are going to do."

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, adding that there will be a shared community building with laundry facilities and a large kitchen for entertaining up to 30 guests.

David Brown said they hope to have the first home on the site in early 2017. 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."

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.net.

Follow Eden Village on Facebook at facebook.com/EdenVillageSGF/.

About the Gathering Tree

The goal of the Gathering Tree, a nonprofit, is to build friendships with homeless people and give them a safe, loving place to go in the evening — a time when they otherwise would have nowhere to go.

Springfield homeless now have a place to sing karaoke, do art and play games

This past February, the Gathering Tree partnered with Vineyard Church in downtown Springfield. The Gathering Tree now operates as a drop-in center again out of the church building 5-8 p.m. Thursday-Monday.

While there, homeless people can get snacks, use the bathroom, use a computer and relax. Twice a month, a hairdresser comes in to give free washes and cuts.

It's also a place to play card games and bingo, sing karaoke and do art projects.

About 60 people visit the Gathering Tree each night it is open.