Springfield Business Journal_2020-08-03

Bryan Stallings : Development’s target audience are those at or below the poverty line. Joel Hornickel : Rezoning is necessary before building can begin. houses. The Neosho-based company also makes houses for Springfield’s Eden Village tiny homes community.  “We’re hoping for local businesses, or- ganizations, church groups or churches, and individuals,” he said of the sponsor- ship model. “The cool thing about it is since we’re in such a beginning stage, when they sponsor a house, they can pick the colors of the house, cabinet colors, flooring colors.” If all 48 homes were sponsored, it would equate to nearly $1.7 million. No sponsors were secured as of press time, but Stallings said a model house is situated in the Elevate Branson parking lot for the next couple of months to promote the development plan. The house is on loan from Eden Village II, which is in development at 3155 W. Brower St. in Springfield.  All Elevate Community houses are for individuals or couples, Stallings said. They are fully furnished one-bed- room, one-bath homes with kitchen and living room spaces and including washers and dry- ers. Rent is set at $400 a month with utilities included, and oc- cupants must sign a one-year lease. The target audience isn’t chronically homeless, he said, but those who are on a fixed income living at or below the poverty line – some of whom live in extended stay motels. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the 2020 federal pov- erty level is $12,760 for a single individual, or $17,240 for a two-person household.  “We want to offer them an opportunity for fair housing so that they’re not living in substandard housing and they can get sta- bilized,” Stallings said. “Then, possibly at some point, they transition out of the tiny houses and into something larger.” The city has been working for a couple of years to curb the number of motels used as long-term residences. Joel Hornickel, Branson’s director of planning and develop- ment, said there are now 27 extended stay motels in the city, down from 38 in 2018, when enforcement of annual fire, health and building code inspections ramped up. On a mission Stallings first visited with city officials about an afford- able housing development a year ago. He received support for the tiny homes concept in August 2019, but it took a while to determine how best to fund it. He said a Community Devel- opment Block Grant became too convoluted of a process, leading to a temporary pause until this year.    Hornickel said he’s helped guide Stallings through the project process. Prior to building, rezoning the land will be necessary, he said. It’s currently zoned for community com- mercial, Stallings said, and for the tiny homes, it’ll need to change to high-density residential.  The rezoning request is scheduled to go before the city planning commission Aug. 4. If recommended by the com- mission, the request moves to the Board of Aldermen for a vote. Hornickel said a final de- cision by the board could be made as early as Sept. 8. Stallings said board approval would lead to the start of engi- neering work, with the goal of moving dirt by April 2021. Hornickel said the proj- ect’s location near Highway 76 makes sense to aid its resi- dents who could feasibly walk to work.  “Obviously, we understand with the tour- ist industry, we need housing located close to service jobs,” he said. Nate Schlueter, chief visionary officer at Eden Village in Springfield, said he’s also consulted with Stallings on the project. That led to the temporary model house loan – one of 24 homes that will be in Eden Village II. The initial Eden Village devel- opment, a 31-home community for the homeless at 2801 E. Division St., opened in August 2018. Houses for the second Eden Village are being manufactured now with plans to move in the first residents by November, he said. All but two of the houses are spon- sored at $35,000 each. Schlueter said Eden Village’s parent company, The Gathering Tree, is around $170,000 shy of its $1.9 mil- lion fundraising goal for Eden Village II.  “We have 150 people on the waiting list,” he said. “We have about three applicants apply every week.” The Gathering Tree’s vision in Springfield is to have four or five tiny home communities established in the next five to seven years, Schlueter said. A third Eden Village is on the ho- rizon at an undisclosed location in northwest Springfield. “We’re working on site plans and will probably start con- struction in the beginning of 2022,” he said. In Branson, Stallings is ready to kick off the fundraising portion for Elevate Com- munity. Aside from the housing, the de- velopers will seek micro business funding opportunities for an auto service shop and art studio on-site. The businesses would of- fer employment opportunities for residents and could attract locals and tourists. “We want to empower people,” he said. “We don’t want them being an isolated community. We want it to be inclusive for the entire Branson area.” SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 15 AUG. 3-9, 2020 NEWS PEOPLE & PURPOSE SERVING SPRINGFIELD SINCE 1977 Y O U R E N V I R O N M E N T M AT T E R S Let’s embrace the new normal and create spaces that are safe and healthy, but still intuitive to how people work. Retrofit a current layout or cultivate new ideas. The spaces we thrive in serve us well when they are designed with purpose and intention. We are our best selves when we feel confident and secure. M O R E T H A N O F F I C E F U R N I T U R E Better workplace interiors starts with understanding what people need from their space. Furniture does not redefine your job or the tasks that work involv s. But it can create a b tter place for you to ork. 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