San Francisco debuted its first 70-unit prefab tiny home village to help solve the city's homelessness crisis see inside the structures

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• San Francisco has opened a 70-room tiny home village to house the city's unhoused residents.
• The rooms are about $30,000 each, including the cost of additional services and buildings.

In the past year, major cities have been building communities of prefabricated tiny homes to house their unhoused residents.

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San Francisco has opened its first approximately $2.1 million tiny home village for unhoused residents amid the city's ongoing homelessness crisis.

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Source: Dignity Moves, San Francisco Chronicle

Interest in tiny homes has skyrocketed since the start of COVID-19.

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In an attempt to alleviate the ongoing homelessness crisis, major cities have increasingly turned to prefabricated tiny home communities to house people facing homelessness.

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And so far, these prefab homes have created safe living spaces for thousands of people in places like Los Angeles and Oahu, Hawaii.

Tiny homes at the Chandler Street Tiny Home Village.      Brittany Chang/Insider

Source: Insider, Star Advertiser

The string of tiny home villages popping up throughout Los Angeles is a particularly notable example.

The Chandler Boulevard Bridge Home Village.      Lehrer Architects

The first community, operated by Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, popped up in early 2021.

The Chandler Boulevard Bridge Home Village.      Lehrer Architects

The "test case" village was so successful, it began accumulating a waitlist after its opening, and the nonprofit has since opened five additional communities around Los Angeles.

Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission

Source: Insider, Hope of the Valley

Now, San Francisco is following in its California counterpart's footsteps by opening its own tiny home village on 33 Gough Street, about a mile from both Mission Dolores Park and the tourist-beloved Painted Ladies.

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Nonprofit and creator of the community Dignitymoves first opened the doors of its San Francisco little living village in early March …

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… supplying lockable tiny homes with beds, desks, and decor to people who've been experiencing homelessness.

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The first residents of the 70-room community began arriving in March.

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Like the new community, Dignitymoves is still relatively nascent.

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The nonprofit was founded at the start of COVID-19 with the goal of building temporary homes on unused land for people facing homelessness.

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Source: DignityMoves

And now, it's working on two additional downsized living communities across California: one in Rohnert Park, about 50 miles north of San Francisco, and the other in sunny Santa Barbara.

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Source: DignityMoves

Like the Los Angeles communities, the village at 33 Gough Street is filled with prefab tiny homes and all the necessary buildings and services to help a resident live comfortably.

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Design and architecture company Gensler and tiny home maker Boss Cubez worked together to create the prefabricated homes, which can last over 20 years, according to Dignitymoves.

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The panelized homes are also portable, allowing the community to be moved or scaled according to need.

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Besides tiny homes, the community also has bathroom and shower spaces, offices for case managers, dining rooms, computer labs, communal spaces, and clinics.

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Each tiny home costs around $15,000 to build, Sam Whiting reported for the San Francisco Chronicle.

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Source: San Francisco Chronicle

But the additional buildings, site work, and services brings the total cost of each room up to around $30,000.

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This brings the cost of the village up to around $2.1 million, a spokesperson confirmed with Insider.

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Source: San Francisco Chronicle

To compare, the most recent 117-home, 224-bed community tiny home village in Los Angeles cost about $5.1 million.

Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission

Source: Insider

"While more permanent housing is critical for alleviating the housing crisis, building sufficient permanent housing is expensive and will take years, while our unhoused neighbors need help now," Elizabeth Funk, founder and executive chairman of DignityMoves, said in a press release.

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Source: Dignitymoves