Location announced for tiny home village for the homeless in Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The public will soon have a chance to weigh in on a new tiny home village that will ultimately house hundreds of homeless people.

The Other Side Village is asking to rezone a property on Salt Lake City’s far west side at 1850 W. Indiana Avenue. That’s an industrial area at roughly 800 South between Interstate 215 and Redwood Road.

“It gives us a chance to invent our own world,” Joseph Grenny, board chairman for the Village said. “We’ll be able to create a beautiful landscaped environment that will be a real asset.”

The 45-acre property is owned by the city, and whether the land will be leased or donated to the nonprofit has not yet been decided.

Grenny expects 50 tiny homes and a couple of buildings providing mental health and other services in the first phase. More details are coming in a master plan to be released in the next two weeks, he said.

Alvie Carter, 76, who said he’s the only resident in the area, said it’ll “be a damn mess.”

“People with drug problems and other types of problems, they’ll be breaking in places and causing trouble and going up and down the street at all times of the night,” Carter said.

Grenny said the development will benefit the area.

“Our promise to our potential neighbors is that this will be safe, that this will be beautiful,” he said. “It will actually elevate the prestige of the local community.”

Grenny hopes to build on the success of The Other Side Academy, which he started six years ago. The residential program for long-time felons, who’ve been arrested an average of 25 times, is self-sustaining. Students work in a moving company or thrift store.

The focus for the Village is on the chronically homeless, people who’ve been living on the streets for a year or longer. People will apply and be interviewed. They’ll also be offered jobs, but work will be optional.

“We want the world to take note to how Utah is contributing to conversations about how you help lift the lives of those who struggle,” Grenny said.

A public process now begins so that residents of Salt Lake City can learn more and give their feedback. The city shared the following news release with more information:

Salt Lake City will consider a zoning amendment request by The Other Side Academy to locate its proposed tiny home project, The Other Side Village, at 1850 W. Indiana Avenue. The amendment request asks that the parcel of land, which is owned by Salt Lake City Corporation, be rezoned from Public Lands (PL Zone) to a Formed Based District (FB-UN2), which would accommodate the development of the Village.

“It’s exciting to see The Other Side Village moving along in this process, which we hope will have an important, long-lasting impact on the chronically unsheltered segment of the homeless population, in particular, people for whom resource centers have not been a solution,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said. “Of course, there will now be a robust and transparent public process to provide Salt Lakers the opportunity to hear about and give feedback on this proposal and we welcome that.”

The request follows the work of The Other Side Village and its Land Search Committee to evaluate properties within the City with 30 or more acres of space to accommodate the initial Village and future expansion.

The community will have an opportunity to learn more about the proposal and provide input in the coming weeks following the required early engagement process, which entails notice to community councils and nearby neighbors, and a meeting - either virtual or in person - in a 45 day period. After the early engagement process is concluded, the request will then be heard by the Planning Commission to determine how it helps achieve city goals found in Plan Salt Lake, Growing SLC, and the Westside Community Plans, after which it will go before the City Council for consideration.

No determination has been made on whether the City would eventually lease or donate the land for this project. However in the event of either a discounted lease or donation, a Public Benefits Analysis would take place wherein a public hearing will be held for the community to consider the proposed Village’s benefit to Salt Lake City and its goal of providing affordable housing to its residents.

This news follows an announcement earlier this year by the City that it had partnered with The Other Side Academy to create a tiny home village, intended to serve people experiencing chronic homelessness.

It is anticipated that the Village will eventually house up to approximately 400+ residents in cottage homes and similar-sized attached housing units, such as duplexes and triplexes. Support services for the Village are anticipated to include on-site health care, dental, and social services along with a convenience store, deli, and community gathering spaces.