On Saturday, 14 women will move into Portland's newest approach to the city's growing homelessness crisis. They will live in extra-tiny houses and share communal living duties as they work to find more permanent housing.

But on Thursday, the village still resembled a parking lot in most respects. A few dozen volunteers sweated in the morning sun to create green spaces and garden beds, build stairs and berms to make the Kenton village feel homey and connected to the North Portland neighborhood.

The village is one-year pilot project to demonstrate how tiny homes might be used to replace large shelters for some people who have trauma or resistance to living in close quarters with other homeless people. After a fast-tracked approval process that included support from a large majority of neighborhood residents the village is a version of a strategy tried in other communities, but a first in Portland.

Each woman will have her own sleeping and living quarters -- about 8-by-12 feet -- and will share kitchen and bathroom space.

Those communal facilities were just delivered that morning. The kitchen is a bright yellow shipping container with a large cafeteria-style window cut out and three walls of cabinets and counters installed. A trellis will be attached to the top to provide shade and privacy for the outdoor eating area that will be installed later.

The bathroom is perpendicular, a sky-blue container with a row of sinks and mirrors, two showers and porta-potties inside. Another portable toilet will be located behind the horseshoe of homes for easy night access.

The village was largely designed by Portland State University's Center for Public Interest Design, a branch of architecture that tries to apply design principles to social problems.

Monica Nunes, a student with a background in public health, shoveled dirt from a wheelbarrow onto the gravel lot to create a berm that will eventually be grassy and dotted with chairs or benches. There will be two berms on the site, serving the dual purpose of separating the women's living space from the eyes of people walking by on the street and also to encourage the residents to hang out together or enjoy a little nature in the midst of the city-owned former lot.

Nunes helped design one of the sleeping pods and the village. She, like many students on the project, consulted with the residents of Hazelnut Grove, another tiny house village for homeless people in the Overlook neighborhood, also in North Portland. Hazelnut isn't city-sanctioned and residents built their homes either themselves or with community volunteer help.

"Really, this model has come from the community of people who are houseless and have started innovating," Nunes said.

Todd Ferry, a research faculty member at the Center for Public Interest Design, said that input was essential. His students also worked closely with the Village Building Coalition, a group of advocates and homeless people who support efforts like Hazelnut Grove, the older Right 2 Dream Too rest stop and Dignity Village, the 17-year-old tent city-turned-permanent encampment.

They helped forge the basis for the Kenton village, which fuses elements from each. While the women who stay in Kenton will be responsible for their living space and set the rules for their community, they also will work with case workers and an on-site manager from Catholic Charities.

"How can we bring the community and spirit of Hazelnut Grove with what people will expect when the city becomes involved?" said Ben Mauro, Portland's housing resource development officer. "There's that oversight aspect that helps bridge the transition into permanent housing."

Neighbors were deeply involved in the project -- former Mayor Charlie Hales pitched the idea at the end of last year and new Mayor Ted Wheeler picked up the baton, lobbying for approval at a contentious meeting where residents voted.

Kenton residents and business owners have been involved in working out details for the village before and after the vote. One even helped pick out the women who will live there.

Preference was given to women who lived in the neighborhood before losing their homes, then to women who lived in adjacent North Portland neighborhoods. Catholic Charities is asking for a grace period of a few weeks to let the women move in and adjust without a public spotlight before making them available for interviews.

Some residents also rolled up their sleeves Thursday. Tamara Bryan squeezed in a few hours before work that morning. She lives just outside Kenton boundaries, so she couldn't vote on the project, but has supported it and wants it to be successful.

"I like that the neighborhood can be involved so the women can be part of the neighborhood and not just be another project that's off on the fringes that people can't see," Bryan said.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger