'Dream come true': Project Tiny Hope’s first bungalow under construction in St. Thomas, Ont.

Construction is underway on Project Tiny Hope's first single bungalow and the St. Thomas, Ont. project years in the making is now a reality.

“This is a one-bedroom net-zero home, which is 427 square feet,” said Kaumin Patel, project manager.

The YWCA calls this a “dream come true.”

“The last couple of years, we've hit some really key milestones,” said Lindsay Rice, executive director of St. Thomas-Elgin YWCA. “We've done our remediation; we've done our underground servicing and our groundbreaking. Now we have the construction of the first tiny home.”

With an October completion date, this is the first of 40 homes planned on the downtown Saint Thomas site.

Builder Doug Tarry has a vision to take this project to the next level at the end of September and is planning to do a blitz-build of eight houses in three days.

“We have invited the local home builders to come together and build houses,” said Patel. “So far we have received five commitments with one house each. If we have more, that would be great, but if not Doug Tarry Homes will do the remaining three.”

The interior of the 427 square-foot tiny home in St. Thomas as part of Project Tiny Hope. August 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)Partnering with the City of Saint Thomas, these 40 homes will go to 66 residents on the centralized waitlist — that list currently has more than 1,000 people.

Each tiny home will rent for around $700 per month – about half the average local rental, and include onsite support.

“We're going to have one, two and three bedroom homes,” said Rice. “So singles, couples and families. Affordable housing is a need across Canada, and right here in Saint Thomas we need more affordable housing for folks who are working part time jobs, who are relying on social assistance and who just need an ability to meet their basic needs.”

The first single bungalow is being built in downtown St. Thomas, Ont. as part of Project Tiny Hope. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)Project Tiny Hope will cost about $14 million. The city has committed $3 million and they're hopeful for provincial and federal funding, which would include a $4 million mortgage and a $3 million grant.

“Doug [Tarry] has worked more than five years on this and we have redesigned this project multiple times,” said Patel. “This is the first time in the province and I would say in Canada, that someone is doing this many small concept tiny homes.”