Habitat for Humanity unveils new tiny homes for Kingston

The Kingston, Ont., branch of Habitat for Humanity showed off its new housing project Thursday.

They say good things come in small packages, and Habitat for Humanity managed to squeeze a lot into 276 square feet.

Working in conjunction with the City of Kingston, the organization is building eight tiny apartments to help combat the rising cost of housing.

“We’re at a time in a society where single person families or living units are higher than ever before in our history, so it makes sense that we would be building some small homes that are affordable to live in,” said Cathy Borowec, CEO of Habitat Kingston Limestone Region.

The organization plans to work with others that have waitlists of people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

“So when working with those different organizations, we’re hoping we can reduce their waitlist instead of going out and seeking new applicants,” said Dawn Campbell, manager of housing partnerships for the organization.

The plan currently is to move the four completed homes to the Rideau Heights neighbourhood in Kingston’s north end next week.

“And then we hope to be able to create a larger development in and around these homes,” added Borowec.

While the four homes are nearing completion, there’s still a lot of work left to be done, and Habitat for Humanity is calling on volunteers to help out.

“It’s a really good way to demonstrate to the folks that will be living in these units what community means and that’s what Habitat is really all about, is community building,” said Campbell.

Once the move is complete, work will begin on the remaining four apartments, with March 2024 as the target move-in date for the pilot program.