LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The city of Lansing is the latest municipality to try the “tiny homes” experiment to address homelessness.
What are “ModPods?”
The Lansing City Council recently passed a resolution stating it would spend $645,486 to buy 50 “ModPods” that are no bigger than 8-feet high and 8-feet long but provide essential living facilities. Each pod can be assembled by two people in less than an hour. By the city’s count, roughly 648 homeless people were in Ingham County in 2024.
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The Housing Resources Inc., a Kalamazoo non-profit, had attempted to do the modular homes in Kalamazoo. It last updated that project in October 2023 when it said it was doing “site feasibility” to find a place for the pods.
The price of purchasing the pods are just the start of the total costs of running a tiny homes community.
The Lansing State Journal reported the city of Lansing stated the cost to run the programs will be about $750,000. In addition, the city has yet to find a location for the units and city officials said they do not have an estimated cost for the installation.
Where will the “ModPods” be located?
Finding a location may not be an easy task. In April, many city of Grand Rapids residents protested a day center for homeless people that was proposed on vacant property in their neighborhood. The residents cited the problem with trash, crime and drugs that the homeless community can sometimes attract.
The city of Lansing sued two area businesses for allowing homeless encampments to go up on their properties. In a court filing, the city claimed it would suffer “irreparable harm” due to the homeless encampments. The homeless site had safety and sanitation issues. A judge ruled this week the homeless encampment can remain, but only if the sanitation and safety issues were addressed.
Tiny homes: a trend.
Lansing’s ModPods, often referred to as “tiny homes” in other communities, are the most recent housing trend dealing with the homeless issue. The houses provide basic living facilities and many tiny homes communities have shared restroom facilities.
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Many of the communities that start tiny homes communities end up hiring a non-profit to oversee operations. Depending on the size of the tiny homes community, that cost can range from $267,000 for a three-tiny home operation to more than $100 million a year for the largest operation serving nearly 500 people.
Tiny homes outside of Michigan.
In Madison, Wisconsin, the nonprofit Occupy Madison operates a tiny homes community that had three tiny homes in 2024. It wants to expand to 22 tiny homes sometime in 2025.
Occupy Madison stated in 2024 had a budget of $267,000 for just those three homes. It received $101,000 in government money that year. It was operated with the help of 25 volunteers.
Austin, Texas, has one of the most well known tiny homes communities. Community First! Village is set on 51 acres and houses 470 people who used to be homeless. The nonprofit Mobile Loaves & Fishes Inc. operates the Austin-based tiny homes community and had revenues of $103.4 million in 2023. Travis County expanded the tiny homes community in 2023 using $35 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).