Lincoln’s tiny home village for former inmates closer to become a reality

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — City officials and developers broke ground Friday on a tiny home village.

The project’s goal is to provide housing for homeless and formerly incarcerated people. 

Twenty tiny homes will be built near 27th Street and Leighton Avenue. 

“This was just the type of project that we imagined could help move the needle for community members,” Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird said.  

Bridges to Hope is the nonprofit in charge of the project.

Executive Director Rhonda Mattingly said the total cost of the project is about $2.3 million.

But she said thanks to donations of labor and material, Bridges to Hope will only have to pay half of that. 

“We have raised already with grants and private donations about $350,000,” Mattingly said. “So, we need a little bit more to get to our million-dollar goal.” 

SEE ALSO: Bridges to Hope plans tiny home village for former inmates in Lincoln

Some companies like White Castle Roofing will be donating construction material. It will build four metal roofs.

In the summer, Channel 8 talked to some neighbors who said they have big concerns about the project. 

They said there aren’t many people who would feel comfortable living next to upward of 20 people who were behind bars. 

Mattingly said there will be a village council, which will decide who stays in the homes.  She said neighbors will be involved in that decision.

“Having the neighborhood involved and having a member on the village council is definitely going to keep the relationship positive and keep it successful,” she said.

The project needs to be completed within three years as part of the agreement with the city. Construction is expected to start sometime next year.