Tiny Homes, Lasting Stability: A New Housing Model Takes Shape in Harrisonburg with CDFI Financing

VCDC is excited to welcome Harrisonburg Tiny Homes to our portfolio.

With the Center for Heath and Human Development

Housing affordability and stability are not just challenges that impact high-density urban areas of Virginia. These challenges impact individuals in all types of communities, including small cities and towns where market-rate rental costs are skyrocketing, and affordable options are quickly dwindling.  

Harrisonburg, VA and surrounding areas of Western Virginia are struggling with a growing homelessness and housing affordability crisis. The region's yearly Point in Time Count, which calculates the approximate number of unhoused people in the central and upper parts of the Shenandoah Valley, has increased by over 31% since 2023. In addition to this, 32.9% of total households in Harrisonburg alone are cost-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing (slightly more than the state average). In the face of this rising concern, the Harrisonburg-based group Center for Health and Human Development (CHHD) is embarking on a new, creative solution to housing in partnership with VCDC: tiny duplex homes.  

CHHD's mission is to build stable, resilient communities by improving access to affordable housing in Harrisonburg. Since 2012, the organization has purchased, renovated, and managed rental properties designed to provide stable and dignified homes to individuals and families in the area. These homes are targeted to households who face unique and significant barriers to stable housing, such as chronic housing instability, physical and mental disabilities, substance abuse, and trauma. The residents in CHHD's properties  make only 30% of the area income, and often include senior citizens, formerly incarcerated individuals, or those at high risk of homelessness – representing individuals with the greatest barriers to housing and not served by other low-income housing providers in the area.  

In recent years, the team at CHHD recognized that beyond the work they were already doing, there remained a strong need for accessible, permanent housing that would help unhoused citizens access quality housing with services tailored to their individual needs. 

“I worked for years with the homeless population and saw how difficult it was to get people into permanent housing, and I saw that there wasn’t enough. So I decided to build it,” said Sam Nickels, who is working with CHHD on the tiny homes project.  

Prior to this project and before retiring, Sam served as the Executive Director of Our Community Place, a day shelter serving the homeless population in Harrisonburg. Based on Sam's extensive experience as a housing provider, the team recognized that small-scale, dispersed homes – otherwise known as "tiny homes" – in mixed-income communities would be the most effective type of housing for people coming out of homelessness. 

As a smaller organization, building individual tiny homes for 2-4 people will allow CHHD to provide tailored services to each resident, with a focus on building meaningful relationships and ensuring residents have the support they need to maintain housing stability. These services include managing financial crises, mediating conflict, and assisting in accessing mental health support, employment, food, and other services. In collaboration with local service providers like Harrisonburg-Rockingham Community Services Board, Mercy House Preventive Housing Program, Our Community Place, Open Doors Navigation Shelter, and more, CHHD is well-positioned to provide and refer residents to services that could truly change their lives.  

This year, VCDC Community Lenders partnered with CHHD to help bring this tiny home project to life. We provided a low-rate construction and bridge loan of $135,000 to support the development of two tiny homes, which will create safe, high-quality homes for very low-income individuals in Harrisonburg. The homes will be built on CHHD’s existing property, and the design incorporates cost-saving measures along with a design that ensures accessibility for residents with disabilities. The tiny duplex will offer garden space and covered porches, along with energy efficiency installments such as solar panels and passive window solar. CHHD will cover all utilities for residents, and rent will operate on a sliding scale to ensure that residents do not become displaced as they are transitioning into permanent housing.  

This is an exciting new venture for both CHHD and VCDC Community Lenders. The project serves as CHHD's first "new build" project, and spur continued development of similar types of housing. This project also represents VCDC Community Lenders' expansion into Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah region of Virginia, diversifying our portfolio of lending to communities in need.  

With VCDC’s investment, CHHD will not only meet a critical community housing need but also leverage additional funding and partnerships to expand housing opportunities for the most vulnerable residents. VCDC is looking forward to seeing this project come to life and make a critical impact on residents in Harrisonburg.