Students from the Delaware Area Career Center’s Construction Technology lab took part in a formal presentation to members of the Delaware County Housing Alliance on March 3, detailing their upcoming Tiny Home Project and how it could help address local housing needs.
The project, a brainchild of DACC Construction Technology Instructor Brandon Schwyn, is still in its infancy, with initial bids being finalized and parts being ordered. DACC students will have the opportunity to build fully customizable, mobile tiny homes for clients in Delaware County – putting a wide array of learned skills into professional practice and serving their community in the process.
The lab began advertising the project in January and has since accepted two proposals: a mobile salon for a local cosmetologist (and DACC grad) and a weekend getaway home. Construction is expected to begin in April, with both projects scheduled to be completed by December.
The tiny homes will be built to professional standards, but will be affordable for community members, as traditional labor costs will be traded for work-based learning experience. They will also be flexible, mobile and fully customizable to fit the clients’ needs.
“This is not only great training for our students, as they will get to experience a full-build project from start to finish, but it’s also a community-minded project,” Schwyn said. “We want to make structures that are usable and beneficial to people in our area.”
That community-minded vision aligns directly with the work being done by the Delaware County Housing Alliance (DCHA). Delaware County faces a documented need for more housing, and the DCHA has been working to diversify the types of housing available. DACC's Construction Technology program is now part of that solution.
“This is workforce development and community support working together,” DACC Career Readiness Coordinator Lisa-Marie Reinhart said.
The DCHA includes individuals from across Delaware County – business and non-profit leaders, government officials, and community stakeholders – who work together to develop solutions that address local housing needs.
The non-profit’s mission is to “transform Delaware County into a community offering safe, affordable and attainable housing for all,” and to “address the unique housing needs of Delaware County residents of all ages, thus ending housing insecurity among our citizens.”
Kelsey Fox, Director of Housing & Community Solutions for United Way of Delaware County and president of the DCHA’s Board of Directors, said initiatives like DACC’s Tiny Home Project are one piece of the puzzle when it comes to diversifying housing opportunities in Delaware County.
“In our mission to provide safe, affordable housing for all, choice is paramount. Workforce development for the individuals responding to the need for 2,000-plus units of housing throughout the county annually are all the more valuable when they are exposed to innovative ideas like tiny home and accessory dwelling unit (ADUs) solutions,” Fox said.
“We are seeing more municipalities throughout the county embrace tiny homes and ADUs in their zoning code updates, and I am thrilled to see students responding to that demand and becoming a part of the conversation.”
Isabella Blevins (Olentangy Orange), Clayton Coss (Big Walnut) and Ben Watkins (Thomas Worthington), juniors in DACC’s Construction Technology program, discussed the project last week during the DCHA’s quarterly meeting at the Willis Education Center.
The experience drove home the reality that this project would make a difference, which Coss said made him even more excited to get going.
“I thought it was really cool to be able to go and talk to different people about what we do in our lab, and how this upcoming Tiny Home Project can help people have new housing options,” Coss said. “It feels really cool to be able to provide for my community.”