Mayor Steve Noble has announced that the City of Kingston has formally awarded Family of Woodstock to facilitate the construction and management of a pilot tiny-home community.
On March 4, the City of Kingston issued an RFP for qualified independent firms to provide construction, case management and property management services for a tiny-home project. The proposal review committee voted to award the contract to Family of Woodstock, which has been serving the community with crisis intervention and support since 1970. This pilot program will launch with $200,000 in allotted funds from the Anti-Displacement Learning Network (ADLN) grant to build homes for families who are facing eviction or are at high risk of displacement from the Midtown neighborhood, and is modeled after the A Tiny Home for Good project in Syracuse.
Designated for single-parent households, the proposal includes three 400-to-700-square-foot two-bedroom homes with a kitchen and bathroom. Family of Woodstock, working with Gen Z Homes, will oversee construction of the community as well as case management services for future residents. Family of Woodstock is working to identify potential locations on a parcel or parcels of city-owned land in the Midtown area.
“We are thrilled to partner with Family of Woodstock to make a tiny-home community a reality. These three homes will have a huge impact on three families almost immediately,” said Mayor Noble. “We also acknowledge that the need for affordable housing is great among all populations. The ADLN project team is actively working on another proposal targeting single adults at high risk of displacement. The tiny-home project is just one piece of my ambitious, multifaceted housing agenda for Kingston, which also includes permitting accessory dwelling units, drafting and implementing a form-based code and pilot projects like this one.”
“Family is excited to work with the City to test the tiny-homes model as a vehicle for helping single-head-of-household families develop the employment skills and address other critical needs to become self-sufficient after two years of supported living,” said Family of Woodstock executive director Michael Berg.
“I’m very excited that, together with the Anti-Displacement Learning Network and Family of Woodstock, we are advancing a pilot project that will provide safe, comfortable and permanent homes for single-parent households facing considerable hardship,” said City of Kingston director of Housing Initiatives Kevin Corté. “No child in Kingston should have to grow up in subpar housing, and no parent should have to make the choice between affordability and safe and healthy living conditions. Providing alternative housing options for low-income families at high risk of displacement is incredibly important in the effort to stabilize our community in the face of a severe housing crisis.”
More information can be found at: https://engagekingston.com/anti-displacement-strategies.