More 'tiny houses' open, helping Tallahassee's affordable housing crisis

Show Caption Hide Caption Tiny home, sweet home Russell Wallace becomes one of the first new residents of The Dwellings, a tiny home community

The Dwellings — the nation's only tiny house community to fuse social services and shared amenities on a large campus — is eyeing the final stretch to complete its build out.

It's a welcome option to combat Tallahassee's affordable housing crisis, where the median monthly rent exceeds $950 and nearly half of the population struggles to meet its basic needs.

Walking into one of the larger units, Debbie Kolfer and John Robinson see a place they can call home. The two relocated from Tampa to Tallahassee to help Kolfer's daughter, a 19-year-old expecting mother in college.

"Watching the shows on TV, I didn’t believe there was a lot you could do with a tiny house but actually coming in" and seeing a finished one "blew my mind," Robinson said during a ribbon-cutting event and tour Friday.

Units range from 190-420 square feet. They're stocked with modern finishes and specialty refrigerators that land between the size of a mini and full-size refrigerator.

Qualified residents pay $600-$800 per month, which include utilities, internet, three meals per day, on-site case management and medical services. Residents have access to a laundry room, a dining hall, a community garden and a fire pit, among other amenities.

"This is an affordable housing community, but it's much more," said Rick Kearney, a local tech titan who's helped revolutionize Tallahassee's response to the homeless and affordable housing. "It's really a community for people who have had challenges in their lives."

Kearney's philanthropic efforts created Westgate Community, a gated permanent and transitional housing complex, and the Comprehensive Emergency Services Center, a homeless shelter named for him, which opened in 2015. Both efforts, and now The Dwellings, point to the growing need for housing.

For example, he said the city received 15,000 applications for housing vouchers during its last application cycle. Kearney said that speaks to a "huge need."

“They come to a place like this, they don’t feel like someone’s unwelcomed guest,” Kearney said. "They can now think about what (they) can do to be more productive ... and help others.”

One of the major challenges is the volume of households that are considered 'cost burdened,' according to a recent city analysis. The term refers to households where more than 30% of income is spent on rent and utilities.

To be 'severely cost burdened' means 50% or more of a person's income is spent on housing. Out of Tallahassee's 75,195 households, 54% are considered cost burdened, more than a third of whom are college students.

In recent years, the city of Tallahassee and Leon County have devoted more resources and attention toward affordable housing, including a need for new initiatives.

Some of those efforts include establishing a community land trust, adding inclusionary housing within the massive Canopy development at Welaunee, and expanding the down payment assistance program with the Tallahassee Lenders' Consortium.

Kearney said there are several dozen people on a waiting list for The Dwellings, which began construction in late 2016 and opened its first units a year later.

He went on to talk about the myriad of volunteer opportunities, from the kitchen to the market to the woodshop for the residents.

"There's nothing like it," he said.

Contact TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.