Bluff Street 'tiny homes' program awarded $200,000 from Lowe's initiative
Jul. 23—Monroe Street Neighborhood Center's Bluff Street Village program, which aims to help low-income individuals own affordable, high-quality "tiny homes," just won a $200,000 grant from a Lowe's initiative called 100 Hometowns.
The Lowe's initiative supports community programs spanning 36 states.
Bluff Street Village was one of 100 projects chosen from more than 2,200 submissions. The winning programs were announced by Lowe's on Tuesday.
The program plans on transforming vacant lots off Bluff Street between Rosedale Avenue and Ottawa Drive into a neighborhood of at least 20 homes that are up to 400 square feet, and is a key portion of Monroe Street Neighborhood Center's revitalization goals for the community.
The village will house individuals who make less than $18,000 a year and who will be able to own their homes in seven years.
Currently the program has constructed 80 percent of two houses, said Bluff Street Village project director Larry Clark. The two houses still require the addition of interior finishings, electrical and plumbing, and should be completed in the next 60 days, according to Mr. Clark and Clara Petty, Monroe Street Neighborhood Project's executive director.
Mr. Clark said "lots of folks are interested" in living in these houses, and that the committee reviewing applications has already received dozens of applications. The program currently awaits occupancy permits and only then will be able to select residents.
The program will use the 100 Hometowns grant to construct a third house as well as purchase and renovate a nearby former gas station on the corner of Monroe Street and Rosedale Avenue into a neighborhood tool lending library.
At a news conference Thursday, Mr. Clark said the tool lending library will provide residents with equipment for yard and home projects, and that workshops will be offered to aid residents with these projects.
Construction on the third house will begin almost immediately and should conclude by Aug. 31, as prescribed by the Lowe's grant, said Mr. Clark.
"We'll have to work fast," he laughed.
At the news conference, he thanked Lowe's for "bringing back a once residential street that has been abandoned."
He said Lowe's was one of the first sponsors of the program, and that area Lowe's stores helped kickstart the program by providing construction materials for the first two houses.
Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz praised the grassroots efforts that made the program possible.
"All of this is a celebration of the grassroots," he said. "A celebration of change happening at the ground level and pushing up."
A home grant from the city will fund the program's fourth and five homes and should be completed by the end of the year. Students from Penta Career Center will be doing most of the construction.
Mr. Clark called for more local corporate sponsors to help finance the construction of the remaining homes.
"We hope now that the folks that have had doubts about this ... will finally see we're serious about this, we're making it happen," Mr. Clark said. "Now it's time to come with some dollars so we can keep going."
