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Operation Tiny House (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
The community faced a severe housing gap, leaving older homeowners and college students with few affordable options. To address this, Operation Tiny House hosted seminars and design workshops to teach older adults about accessory dwelling units as a way to age in place and generate income. Participants, including older adults and students, collaborated on life-sized ADU prototypes and creative renderings, fostering intergenerational engagement. The project sparked enthusiasm for ADUs as a solution for affordability and independence while strengthening social ties. "It was inspiring to see older adults and students working side by side," organizers said, underscoring the shared purpose.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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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.
Livingston, MT
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Accessory dwelling units, tiny homes and manufactured housing
Description: Park County's housing shortage left older adults and low-income workers struggling to age in place or stay near family. The project offered free tours of seven accessory dwelling units and a three-part workshop for 38 homeowners, most age 50-plus, covering financing, design and construction. These sessions broke down barriers and highlighted accessibility features. Participants left empowered to start projects, and the Coalition expects more ADUs to expand housing options and family stability. One attendee said that the program gave her a pathway into retirement.
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.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Dallas, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Transportation Systems Change
Description: Better Block Foundation tackled unsafe streets and missing sidewalks in Dallas, where older adults lacked accessible spaces to gather. The team installed an ADA ramp, added benches at bus stops and introduced speed bumps near a food bank serving 1,800 families. Volunteers transformed a parking lot into a shaded seating area and created market stall designs for future use. The effort prompted city discussions on street redesign and tree planting. As one partner said about the speed bumps, "We are so grateful... It's very dangerous. We have needed them for a long time."
Dallas, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Housing stability
Description: Older homeowners in Dallas risked losing homes because unclear property titles blocked aid and made aging in place difficult. Beloved responded with education sessions and media outreach that reached hundreds of people, helped 10 individuals complete Transfer on Death Deeds and distributed fireproof document keepers to safeguard vital records. These steps prompted families to address tangled titles and secure property rights. One participant, after three years of struggling to fix her fathers deed, said she was "excited there was a partner willing to help," and now has the resources to achieve resolution.
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