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February 12, 2019

Okotoks continues to study potential for tiny home development

As reported in the Calgary Herald, Okotoks is one step closer to bringing a tiny homes eco-village to town after council approved the conceptual design for the project on Monday.

The initiative, through which the town would partner with Calgary-based Vagabond Tiny Homes and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s Affordable Rental Innovation Fund, aims to build a mixed-community of 42 affordable housing rental units, market-rate rental units, short-term vacation rental units, and homes for purchase.

They would have a shared central hub with a communal kitchen, as well as dining, storage and meeting facilities.

Dubbed the “Homestead” project, it would be set up on a 10-acre portion of municipally-owned land in D’Arcy Ranch, on the western edge the 30,000-strong municipality. Of that, about 2.8 acres would be designated for the eco-village, while the remaining 7.2 acres would include a variety of community amenities such as a playground, amphitheatre, and both indoor and outdoor gardening spots, according to the proposal.

“It’s really value-based living,” said Coun. Florence Christophers. “I think when it gets lumped into the category of affordable housing, people hear low-income housing, or they hear subsidized housing. This project is neither. It is not subsidized and it is not low-income. The homes are smaller, so the affordability of the homes is reflective of that… It’s really value-based living.”

She said the concept is geared toward people interested in “communal-orientated” living, who want to live more simply, in a smaller space.

“What this eco-village is creating is an opportunity for people to live different, to engage with their neighbours differently, and to choose to buck the trends around bigger houses and more stuff, and go the exact opposite direction,” said Christophers. “It’s the simplification of life.”

The cost of the entire Homestead project would be close to $18 million, with the eco-village component pegged at $7 million. The town would provide about $2.6 million in infrastructure for the eco-village while Vagabond Tiny Homes and affordable housing lenders would kick in $4.4 million.

Each home would range from about 32 to 51 square metres, according to the proposal.

Keep reading in the Calgary Herald

 


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