A NEW PLAN FOR TINY HOUSES
FEBRUARY 12, 2024
MILWAUKEE (Urban Milwaukee) - - The new developer of a planned tiny homes community for military veterans facing homelessness is advancing a rezoning request that would allow the long-sought proposal to proceed.
Racine-based Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin (VOW) first announced the project in 2019, securing a zoning change for a two-phase proposal to be built on a vacant, city-owned site at 6767 N. 60th St., just south of W. Green Tree Road. But the nonprofit organization didn’t proceed with the project.
“It was an all hands on deck approach to find someone who could bring this project to fruition,” said Department of City Development planning manager Sam Leichtling, explaining to the City Plan Commission what happened when VOW decided it couldn’t advance the project.
Missouri-based Veterans Community Project (VCP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, then stepped in, and was announced as a replacement in 2022. A fundraising campaign was launched last year.
VCP national expansion director Ben Hendershot said the organization would develop a 40-home campus. It would attempt not only to house veterans and their families, but also to bridge the gap between living in shelters and moving into permanent housing by providing education and other wraparound services.
Rendering of VCP of Milwaukee