SALT LAKE CITY– The proposal to build a tiny-home community on the west side of Salt Lake City is moving forward after the City Council voted in favor Tuesday.

The council voted to lease the land to the Other Side Academy, which helps people who are homeless and those who have criminal backgrounds and substance-abuse disorders. The non-profit will now lease 8 acres of land near Redwood Road and Indiana Avenue near the Interstate 215 West Belt.

“We believe that the culture [here] is going to be critical,” said Dave Durocher, executive director of the Other Side Academy. “[This will give] people the opportunity to live in a community that is going to hold them accountable.”

Durocher said The Other Side Village will house roughly 400 to 450 people. Units will be about 280 to 400 square feet. He said the tiny homes will be real homes, featuring a small bedroom, kitchenette and a dining room, not just an enclosed space with a roof.

“I don’t want people to get lost on the tiny homes themselves,” Durocher said. “Envision a studio apartment only a much smaller version.”

Funding for the project will come from private donations, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and the state. Durocher said they’ve already received a “significant amount” of the $13 million to $14 million needed for the project’s first phase.

Durocher said organizers hope to break ground on the village in spring 2023.

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