Tiny home village breaks ground, 'could end veteran homelessness'

The Veterans Community Project broke ground on its Sioux Falls project, a community of 25 tiny homes for homeless veterans near Axtell Middle School, on Thursday morning.

Sioux Falls officials lauded the project, which has been in discussions since 2019 and has already seen similar "villages" built in Kansas City and Longmont, Colorado. Two others are under construction in St. Louis and Oklahoma City.

Mike Lynch with Forward Sioux Falls said VCP would address "an acute need in our community," and that it was, "much more than just a roof over someone's head."

More: Sioux Falls City Council gifts land to tiny-home community for homeless vets

Mayor Paul TenHaken singled out senior planner Jason Bieber for his work making the project happen, adding the city was able to effectively identify this project, buy a parcel of land and donate it without trouble from "not in my backyard" attitudes that have caused trouble recently.

“You talk about a One Sioux Falls project," TenHaken said, tying it to his signature framework, "this is like, the definition of that.”

And Bryan Mayer, the CEO of VCP, praised the city for the steps they took to make the project happen.

“If every community in the United States did what Sioux Falls did," Mayer said, "we could end veteran homelessness.”

While there was no date set for completion, the gifting agreement that provided VCP with the land stated that construction must begin within three years of when it starts.

Correction: The original headline of this story misattributed a quote to Mayor Paul TenHaken.