After prolonged delays, long-promised SLC tiny-home village for homeless Utahns finally gets its first residents

Three years after it was first expected to open its doors, a long-promised village of tiny houses meant for homeless Utahns has received its first residents.

The initial six occupants of Salt Lake City’s Other Side Village started moving into their new digs Monday as a part of an opening ceremony that also included the unveiling of a community center on the property.

“I feel awesome,” said Paul Eric Fairburn, one of the six residents. “It’s been a lot of time, two years in the making. … I’m glad I took the time to do this. It’s been kind of grinding at times. It’s been a good experience overall.”

The village, which is affiliated with The Other Side Academy and its related businesses, has received virtually free land from City Hall and millions of dollars in taxpayer funds since it was first pitched. The project, which sits between Interstate 215 and Redwood Road, north of Indiana Avenue, has repeatedly blown past its projected launch dates.

In 2021, Mayor Erin Mendenhall said the city was working at “light speed” on the project, with an aim to get the village open by that winter. Then, project leaders said the village could open its doors by summer 2022. Then summer 2023. Then early 2024 was deemed more realistic. Then, by year’s end at the earliest.

Other Side Village CEO Preston Cochrane and other leaders have attributed the project’s delays to labor shortages, site cleanup and headaches with getting materials.

Just ahead of the new year, the day finally came. The pioneering villagers rang a bell symbolizing their arrival and their role as ambassadors for the community. Local leaders, including Mendenhall, City Council members and state homelessness coordinator Wayne Niederhauser, took part in the festivities, posing for photos and congratulating project officials and residents alike.

“The village will be a beacon of hope and healing from today onward,” Mendenhall said in a news release. “I want to express my sincere gratitude to The Other Side staff, who are exceptional because of the community and collaboration they foster.”

Sixty tiny homes of about 350 square feet each will be part of this first phase of construction. Eventually, project leaders say, there will be 430 houses in the community. They want to build about 200 more in the next year.

To qualify for a home, residents must make less than 30% of the area’s median income (about $21,500 for one person), have been chronically homeless and be sober. They also have to go through a roughly six-month prep school program before they can get a pint-size house. Occupants will also have to pay between $250 and $500 in rent each month.

There are currently 15 more people in the prep school pipeline. The building that hosts the program in Murray has enough space for 25 participants total. Village leaders plan to start construction next year on a larger space that can host 52 students in the Central City neighborhood of Utah’s capital.

Residents can work at one of the affiliated Other Side businesses, including The Other Side Donuts just around the corner on Redwood Road. Project leaders plan to put up another building in the village to offer more on-site employment.

Officials also broke ground on a physical and mental health clinic Monday.

“Having on-site medical and mental health care is critical,” Cochrane said in a news release.

The new facility would give residents access to regular check-ins with doctors, consistent access to medication and ongoing support from case managers, Cochrane said.

“All of these things,” he said, “have been missing in their lives while living on the streets or in shelters.”

The full completion of the community isn’t expected for another five years at least. Project leaders have estimated the build will cost $60 million, but that isn’t accounting for recent inflation.

As for Fairburn’s new tiny home, he said “it’ll work.” After all, he said, “it’s better than the streets.”