A cluster of tiny homes in North Portland that serves as a shelter for homeless women has been moved to a new location thanks to the efforts of a small army of volunteers and the support of the local building industry.

Kenton Women’s Village opened in summer 2017 as a one-year pilot project on a city-owned lot in the Kenton neighborhood. The idea was to create a transitional housing community for women experiencing homelessness without the constraints of a traditional overnight shelter environment, where women’s safety can be at risk and a sense of permanence is lacking.

“This is more individual; it’s their home,” said Deborah Kamprath, development project manager with Catholic Charities, which operates the shelter. “They have privacy and a place to put their stuff, where with shelters you don’t have that. You’re just going in for the night and leaving in the morning.”

The original village had capacity for 14 residents, all whom were housed in small sleeping “pods” designed and built by the Partners On Dwelling Initiative, which included Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design and several local architecture firms. The goal was to create a replicable model for tackling the homelessness issue by building small, inexpensive housing units that would be easy to mass-produce and transport.

The village proved to be a success, and when the yearlong trial period expired the Kenton Neighborhood Association voted overwhelmingly to allow it to stay in operation. Imminent construction of a low-income housing development on the village site meant a new location had to be found, and a suitable one on another city-owned parcel just a few hundred feet away was chosen.

LMC Construction has spearheaded the effort to prepare the new site, an approximately three-quarters-acre parcel at 2420 N. Columbia Blvd., for the move. The firm has been working pro bono since this past fall to build concrete pads for the housing pods, grade and landscape the site, and install electrical, plumbing and sanitary service.

The project has come to fruition thanks to the help of multiple contractors, suppliers, design and engineering firms who have donated labor and materials to make the move happen. Scott Kotlarz, a superintendent with LMC Construction, said he has received overwhelming support from firms that are eager to support the effort.

“I don’t have submittals (and) I don’t have contracts with anybody, but everybody has stepped up,” he said. “They’re here no matter when I call. It’s been great.”

The Northwest College of Construction (NWCOC) has been instrumental in supplying labor, Kotlarz said. Students have helped with multiple scopes of work, including concrete, framing, site work and landscaping. Late last month, students in a Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center pre-apprenticeship program, led by a NWCOC instructor, helped put the finishing touches on the new site by framing a trash enclosure, laying hog’s fuel paths and building decks.

Residents are expected to return this week to the village, which will reopen with six of the original pods, one donated tiny house and two donated temporary tiny homes on wheels. A second phase of work will bring the site up to its capacity of 20 pods; volunteers last week kicked off an effort to build additional units.

A total of 21 commercial and residential builders have committed to participation in the Pod Build Challenge, during which they will each construct a unit over the course of the next couple of months before installation on site in April. The units will be installed with the help of Andersen Construction. The remaining eight units will be installed at a second village location later this year.

For Kotlarz, whose work on the project will be wrapping up with the completion of this phase, it has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of his nearly 40-year career.

“It’s been neat to see this process develop as it goes,” he said. “It’s not so much a job; it’s more an honor to be present and be a part of this.”

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Portland’s Kenton neighborhood saw its population jump a bit over the weekend. At the bottom of a hill north of Kenton Park, ringed by $400,000 homes, 14 tiny homes now cater to homeless women. They were built via the Partners On Dwelling () , which is geared to help designers and volunteers become involved in the effort to address homelessness.

The first residents of the moved in Saturday.

“We are excited about it and what it portends for the future,” said Michael Cox, director of communications for Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office.

After more than seven months of planning, the POD village is a first for the city. The one-year pilot project is providing temporary housing on city-owned land. Catholic Charities is overseeing the project, including selection of residents.

The search for space for the village largely fell to Ben Mauro, program coordinator of Portland’s Office of Management and Finance. The office coordinated with Catholic Charities and Village Coalition to find a suitable property.

“I spent a lot of time looking at property across the city,” Mauro said. “We came across this piece of land that was owned by (the Portland Development Commission). We came up with the idea of individual structures.”

LRS Architects is one of the firms involved in the POD design effort.

“The goal here was to make sure these weren’t a shack,” said Russell Wisniewski, design team lead at LRS Architects. “Even though these are temporary, it shouldn’t feel temporary.”

The POD homes are very small. The largest one is just 8 feet wide by 12 feet long, while the tiniest is 6 feet wide by 8 feet long. The tallest home stands just 10 feet, 8 inches.

They are not hooked up to water or sewer. A tank at the village provides water for cooking and bathing, and a separate tank collects gray water. Two shipping containers have been converted into a communal kitchen and a separate bathing facility; portable toilets are also at the site.

The North Portland property also provides easy access to MAX light rail and other services aimed at helping residents improve their lives.

“These (POD homes) give residents an opportunity from which to transition to permanent housing,” said Catholic Charities’ Trell Anderson, director of community development and housing. “A lot of it has to do with income – maybe they have bad rental resumes. We help them work through that.”

Part of the site selection process involved community engagement.

“It’s been quite the journey,” said Tyler Roppe, chairman of the Kenton Neighborhood Association. “Obviously not everyone, but the vast majority of the neighborhood is very excited.”

Kenton residents were generally receptive to the village concept. They voted 178-75 in favor of issuing their approval.

“There was less resistance than I would have thought,” Wisniewski said. “I was kind of surprised at how positive people were.”

A big selling point of the PODs is that they’re designed more like homes and less like the tents and ramshackle structures that often make up such camps. Another feature of the village will even benefit Kenton residents.

“One of the coolest parts is the community garden,” Wisniewski said. “It will be used by both campers and neighbors and (become) part of the neighborhood.”

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