Tiny House Villages Update

I’ve been a bit delinquent in blogging the past few months because I’ve been busy helping build a tiny house village.  Check it out!

Occupy Madison decided to do a crazy little thing during a pandemic – get 28 people out of tents and cars and off the streets and into tiny homes – did I mention, DURING A PANDEMIC and at record speed?

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?

Here’s a little list of a few things we have been working on – I’m sure I’m missing a few things. (Photo is original, not the final)

• September 23 – 30
  • Look at the property at 1901 Aberg Ave, check zoning, comp plan, OMSAP
  • 28th – put in the offer (contingent on zoning and financing)
  • Notify neighborhood and elected officials
  • 30th – Offer accepted.

• October
  • Neighborhood meeting
  • Work with architect (Ed Kuharski, Green Design Studios) and engage construction company (Bachmann Construction)
  • Find place to build houses (Common Wealth Development – 931 E Main)
  • Get temporary zoning from City Council
  • Build first house, recruit shop managers/shift leads (Huge thanks to the Bodgery)
  • Fundraising
  • Weekly General Membership meetings
  • Determine resident process to get a tiny home

• November
  • Nov. 6th. – Close on the property (purchase it)
  • Manage hundreds of volunteer sign-ups
  • Manage new resident process – residents start moving in
  • Work on County funding ($200,000)
  • Start building houses
  • Fundraising
  • Build fence
  • Construction assistance with interior work (new showers, laundry room and kitchen)
  • Weekly General Membership meetings and multiple residents’ meetings each week
  • Manage tsunami of community support and donations
  • Prepare for silent auction

• December
  • On-line store holiday sale
  • Nearly finish building 34 houses
  • Manage hundreds of volunteer sign-ups
  • Manage new resident process – residents finish moving in
  • County funding ($200,000) approved
  • Fundraising
  • Build fence
  • Construction assistance with interior work (new showers, laundry room and kitchen)
  • Weekly General Membership meetings and multiple residents’ meetings each week
  • Manage tsunami of community support and donations
  • Prepare for silent auction

• January
  • Finish building all 34 houses, shut down wood shop (Commonwealth Development – 931 E Main)
  • Finish interior construction
  • Fundraising
  • More manageable meeting schedule – 3 residents meetings each week, monthly GMM (2x), joint residents and Board meetings.
  • Start looking for new property
  • Begin permanent zoning process
  • Preparing for 304 N 3rd St. renovations (we need to get the kitchen out of the woodshop so we can build the tiny houses in our woodshop)
  • Prepare for silent auction

Obviously, it took a small army of dedicated leaders and volunteers to pull this all off!!!!  A huge heartfelt thank you to the over 1,000 people who helped make this happen!!!!

HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE PROJECT(S)?

I just wrote this blog post for the website – no sense in re-writing it!

This week we are putting the final touches on phase one (temporary) of the new tiny house village at 1901 Aberg Ave.  We are very excited to be reaching the conclusion of interior construction!  We finished our last house in early January, about 2 months after purchasing the 1901 property.  We ended up building 34 houses.

At this point, honestly, we have to turn our attention to raising the money.  Our next plans include:

• Renovations at 304 N 3rd St. starting in April.  We are adding a kitchen and community room to the building and adding 4 more houses. The new kitchen and community room will free up woodshop space so we can build the permanent tiny houses there. ($200,000)
• Permanent status at 1901.  By June we need to go through the planning process and get permanent zoning for 1901 Aberg Ave.  Permanent zoning includes reducing the number of houses from 28 – 20, building our permanent larger houses, landscaping and building raised bed gardens.  It also means we have to determine a permanent use for the building. Should it be a sandwich shop?  A retail store? Or something else. ($200,000)
• We need more land.  As the larger houses cycle in and we reduce the number of houses at 1901 Aberg Ave for its permanent use, we need to find a new place to put our houses. ($????)
• We also need a new pick up truck to tow the houses and a passenger van. ($???)

We also know that many people want to continue to volunteer with us.  At the moment, we are looking for the following help:

• Fundraising Committee – help us determine how to continue to raise funds, write grants and continue to grow our villages.
• OM Store – help with our on-line store that sells products produced by our residents.
• OM Grow – help with our greenhouse and spring plant sale.
• Accounting – we are looking for a bookkeeper
• OM Shop Managers – lead a shift in our woodworking shop.  Currently shifts are limited to our residents.
• Resident meeting and services facilitator assistants (meetings are in person, not zoom)
• Check back for more opportunities soon.

If you are interested in volunteering, email occupymadisoninc@gmail.com.

1. Donate to our GoFundMe page here.  You can also venmo, send a check to 304 N 3rd St. Madison WI 53704 or donate through paypal.  Yes, we have 501(c)(3) status.
2. Share our GoFundMe page on-line.
3. Sign up to become a sustainer – donating a monthly amount of money to help us with ongoing costs.
4. Buy products from our on-line store. (check back, more items will be posted.)
5. Donated items for the new village.   Items can be dropped off 1901 Aberg Ave.  Items we currently are accepting include:
   1. Laundry Soap
   2. Dish washing liquid, dishwasher soap
   3. Cleaning sprays, vinegar, bleach and cleaning supplies for bathrooms and showers
   4. Toilet paper
   5. Coffee
   6. Office supplies – paper (printer and notepad), pens, tape
   7. Arts and craft supplies
   8. Small curtains and curtain rods. (32w x 14 H)
   9. Shower shoes
6. Supplies for our woodshop can be dropped off at any time at 304 N 3rd Street.  Items we are looking for include:
   1. Untreated Dimensional Lumber (minimum length 6’) 1×4; 1×6; 2×4 ; 2×6; 2×8; 2×10; 2×12; 4×4
   2. Plywood (minimum size 4’x4’; please no OSB or Particle Board) 3/8”CDX; ½” CDX; ½” MDO
   3. Bulls Eye or Kilz Paint Primer
   4. Hardwoods: Cherry, Walnut, Hickory, Hackberry, Elm, Locust, Ash
   5. Other (please confirm we can use it before dropping off, we have a small space to store it in!)

Upcoming things to watch for:

1. An on-line auction for larger and unique items from Wiggies Bar
2. A grand opening as soon as COVID-19 is over!
3. Many smaller fundraisers over the next year as we continue to try to raise an additional $275,000 or more.

• Other frequently asked questions:
• How do I get a tiny home?