WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A new community of tiny homes will give veterans and seniors an affordable place to live in Warner Robins.
According to the Warner Robins Housing Authority Director Sheryl Frazier, construction is set to start in the next month or so and they hope to be finished with phase one by the end of the year.
Frazier said they will start out by building 15 tiny homes on the property, and they are hoping that number will grow to over 160 in 2020. She said they are currently working on a $5 million grant to make that happen.
Each tiny home costs about $40,000 to build, according to Frazier. That money is coming from the Housing Authority and Community Development Block Grant funds from the city.
The community will stand where the old Oscar Thomie neighbor used to be.
One veteran in the area said that he already has his name on the waiting list.
Emmett Lockhart was in the Navy for three years back in the 1950s. He returned to central Georgia in 1958.
He gave his apartment to his son a few years ago, thinking he was moving into another one in Fort Valley.
That plan fell through, and now, he is homeless in Warner Robins.
He said thanks to VECTR and the Warner Robins Housing Authority, he is on a waiting list to get into one of the new tiny homes.
“This new vets home thing is gonna be a tremendous thing for veterans, and they deserve it,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart said having an outdoor space will be a nice alternative to living in an apartment.
“I’m an avid gardener. I really, really enjoy gardening. This will be one activity that will occupy me, you know, rather than sitting inside all day,” he said.
Frazier says the first 15 tiny homes will sit on two acres of the 19-acre land. Tiny homes are typically between 200 and 400 square feet.
Frazier said the affordable housing is open to anyone, but the goal is to give veterans and seniors a living community where they feel safe. The tiny homes will be located off of North Davis Drive.
Lockhart says he is excited for the houses to be built because he can’t wait to have a place of his own again.