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Human Resource Development Council of District IX Inc. (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Housing
└ Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
└ Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
This project will host a four-part workshop for homeowners on how to build accessory dwelling units to house local workers and older adults. The workshops will cover financing, design, permitting, construction and property management.
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Chicago, IL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2018
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: This project set out to increase awareness of accessory dwelling units -- small housing units constructed on a property alongside a preexisting single family home. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus held its proposes a Granny Flat Academy, a series of educational workshops for Chicagoland residents, elected officials and municipal staff. The workshops highlighted best practices for amending ordinances to allow ADU construction and how to educate residents about the benefits of ADUs. Organizers say ADUs support lifelong communities, allowing people to age in place in their neighborhoods in an accessible, affordable setting.
Eugene, OR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: SquareOne Villages constructed two ADA-compliant tiny houses at Emerald Village Eugene, a permanently affordable tiny home co-op. The 1.1 acre location features 22 tiny houses, ranging in size from 160- to 288-square-feet. Each contains a kitchenette, bathroom and sleeping and living areas. Private donations and in-kind contributions by local architects, builders and others funded the project, with future residents contributed their labor during construction. As a result, construction costs came to around 55,000 per unit, including the price of the land. The monthly cost to residents ranges from 200 to 300 and covers utilities, maintenance, operating costs and common spaces. As members of a housing cooperative, the residents own shares in the village, enabling each to receive some money if they choose to move out. To promote diverse housing options, organization also hosted two workshops on accessory dwellings unit in Eugene.
Dallas, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: Seminars, workshops and a design competition will demonstrate the value of accessory dwelling units for older homeowners, who can rent the ADUs to students and generate additional income. Participants live in a neighborhood situated between two colleges, which are experiencing severe student housing shortages.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Bozeman, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Park enhancements
Description: This project will create accessible trails near the hospital and 55 housing communities, promoting physical activity for all. It aims to improve poorly maintained trails and provide a year-round, inclusive trail network.
Bozeman, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Roadway/sidewalks/crosswalk improvement
Description: The City of Bozeman partnered with the Western Transportation Institute to create a pop-up trailer, which they lend to community groups who want to test out street concepts and advocate for permanent changes. The toolkit contains materials for temporary demonstrations, such as straw wattles, planter boxes, pavement paint and tires. These are useful for creating curb extensions and pedestrian islands -- features that calm traffic by narrowing lanes and increasing the visibility of cyclists and pedestrians. The City deployed the kit at the intersection of Tamarack and North Tracy, where residents often complain about speeding. Located near a park, senior center and the county fairgrounds, the intersection is popular with pedestrians and cyclists. When the City polled passersby about the interventions, two-thirds of the feedback they heard was positive. The City also set up radar speed detection equipment, which showed slower vehicle speeds during pop-up project.
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