Milwaukee Business Journal – By Teddy Nykiel – Nov 8, 2023
A nonprofit group supported by partners including Milwaukee Tool is revitalizing a pre-pandemic plan to build tiny homes in Milwaukee for veterans experiencing homelessness.
Missouri-based Veterans Community Project plans to build 40 tiny houses and a support center on seven acres at 6767 N. 60th St. in Milwaukee, a piece of the former Bacher Farms property on the city’s northwest side. Construction could begin as early as spring 2024 if the group raises enough funding.
The group kicked off a fundraising campaign Tuesday and is looking to raise a total of $11.7 million to fund the construction and operations of the Milwaukee project, said Janice Barron of Veterans Community Project. It’s primarily seeking private funding from corporate contributors, foundations, individual donors and private grants.
The campaign has already raised more than $200,000, including a $100,000 commitment from Milwaukee Tool. Other initial funding has come from the Generac Foundation, the U.S. Venture/Schmidt Family Foundation and the Peterson Family Foundation.
Veterans Community Project intends to take a phased approach to building and will begin infrastructure construction after it raises enough money for that portion of the project, Barron said. It needs around $2.5 million to get started, she said.
Once it starts “turning dirt,” the organization will begin hiring Milwaukee staff, Barronsaid. It could employ 13 to 15 local employees including an executive director, development director, volunteer manager and case managers, she said.
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- A rendering of the Veterans Community Project tiny homes planned on Milwaukee’s northwest side.
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- Milwaukee’s tiny home village would have 40 houses and a community support center.
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- The tiny home village for Milwaukee veterans would include a center with private offices for case management,classroom spaces and a fellowship hall for social events.
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- Veterans Community Project has other tiny home villages in Missouri, Colorado and South Dakota.
Years in the making
Milwaukee Tool quality engineering lab manager Bill Malzewski has been championing Milwaukee’s tiny-homes-for-veterans project for years through the company’s community impact committee.
Previously, Milwaukee Tool was working with another organization called Veterans Outreach Wisconsin on a plan to build tiny homes for veterans on the same site. The group sought city approvals in 2019 and acquired the land from the city for $35,000, funded by Milwaukee Tool, Malzewski said.
But the project didn’t come to fruition.
“It never took flight,” said Malzewski, who’s chairing the current fundraising campaign.”We tried a couple of small campaigns for fundraising and then Covid hit and it just squashed everything.”
Over the last year, Malzewski worked to transition the effort to the Veterans Community Project. They redesigned the plans and are transferring the land from Veterans Outreach Wisconsin.
Tiny homes for veterans
Veterans Community Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Kansas City, Missouri, that builds tiny home communities and provides on-site wrap around services for veterans experiencing homelessness. It has communities in St. Louis; Kansas City; Longmont, Colorado; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Veterans live rent-free in the tiny homes, which are designed to be transitional housing. Each community has a village center that offers case management services, education, health and wellness programming, and social activities for residents.
In addition to Malzewski, the capital campaign committee for Milwaukee’s veteran tiny home village includes Adam Cornelius and Jeff Starr of Pieper Power; Gary Czaplewski of Capitoline Business Intelligence; Steve DeCleene of Neumann Companies; Tarik Moody of Radio Milwaukee; Saul Newton, former president and CEO of the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce; George Petropoulos of Workhorse Group Inc.; Anoop Prakash of Ariens Co.; and Dan Semrad of Boldt Construction.