Tiny House: What's the attraction? (Denver, Black Forest: rentals, motel, mobile home)

[abcdefg567]

Originally Posted by TCHP

True, but these are also very individualized trailers built to best suit the owners tastes, so they can can be much more than a simple box with axles. Owners will want more than just a trailer park experience to go with them. But, that cold be the kicking off point of getting them out there.

The homeless... that's a bit more tough. While I'm sure there are a percentage that would relish the housing opportunities being demonstrated by various municipalities out there, I think we also need to understand there is a percentage of chronic homeless that don't care for any of that because they choose to live outside of most societal rules as well as a percentage of violent and dangerous homeless that we need to figure out a better method of dealing with than giving them a home.

Not to veer off topic, but do you have any idea if Colorado Springs is addressing the problem?

I know there was recently the median law & that curbed the panhandlers in our other area, but closer to downtown I see them, mostly under the highway bridges.

What really shocked me was the large tent villages. I had heard one was cleaned out several months ago by a creek, but Google Maps is showing several, and multiple with 20+ tents near downtown and Nevada St.

Obviously I don't hate the homeless, but we went to the ER at Memorial last week at like 10 am on a Tuesday and it was worse than Denver General (now health) on a Friday night, with mostly homeless and drug addled. A nurse clued me in on a better place to go next time, but one man behind us was agitated that it was taking so long to check in that he started thrashing around....idk.

I just wish there was somewhere else for these people to hangout and get treatment other than parks/libraries/store fronts. I suppose it's my own vanity, as it makes me feel guilty and sad for the animals or children, but I feel these people need more help....

[TCHP]

Cos officials are still struggling with how to address homelessness.

IMO, wholesale free housing is not a one size fits all homeless solution. For a percentage, yes that will help. We have around 400-800 people a month moving here. Obviously that many new housing units are not opening a month, so the excess live in cars, motor homes, tent cities, and shelters and they are the ones most likely to benefit from a program like this while they get their feet under them. The chronic, mentally impaired, and violent homeless are another story.

Many, many years ago, there was a Holiday Inn that sat right where the Cimmarron/I-25 interchange bypass road is now constructed. When the unit closed as a hotel, it was turned into a homeless shelter. Within several year, the place was trashed and un-inhabitable and was shut down. It sat until it was demolished for the interchange project. This place housed chronic homeless people who saw it as no different than their tent cities. Garbage, human waste, drug use, fires in the rooms, and assault were rampant.

We need to differentiate between helping those who need a hand up and enabling those that live so far outside the norms of society that they pose health and welfare hazards to the rest of us.

[orngkat]

Perhaps another thread is due on the homeless issue but while it's here...is there a reason why the transient population continues to flood the Front Range in particular? Or is this happening all over?

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by nightbird47

I was homeless for a few months some years ago. I was lucky to get into a shelter for most of the time. I dreamed of a lot of things but most of all a dependable place to go home and to bed. A tent in an area where others were using them would have been better. I got into a county housing program, and the place was overfull and a zoo, but my roommate and I considered our room our room. But there were a lot of interesting fireworks with people who weren't like you in too little space.

If I could have had a tiny house to live in and get over the hump, I'd have JUMPED for it. It would be *your own space*. Don't deny the value until you find out.

My current house is 720 sf, and a quarter of its got assorted and unused stuff in in it. The part I live in is in tiny house territory. The living room is also where all the computer stuff goes, and I'm putting in special shelves. The part of the kitchen I don't use will become a bunch of storage, easy to get to. Eventually I'll get to the add on part. But I have looked over a few tiny house layouts just in that size range with so much better layouts and I'd love to have one.

Our idea is a motherin law cottage. My son's family includes my dil's mother already. I think being close to the family and spending time with them, and when I don't want company, I have my own front door. I'm not a housework fan either, so small in that way would be a bonus.

For centuries people lived in very small homes, and didn't have each room dedicated to one function. They didn't feel they were being denied space. With these huge psudomansions today, its time for an adjustment of values which would save people, land and the planet a lot of fuss.

Excellent points!

Mesa County in general and Grand Junction in particular is doing something about the housing crunch in a good way. When the growth really started to kick I saw two things, 4 and 5 bedroom houses built outside the city limits and the big franchise hotels being built, with about 80% of them on Horizon Drive.

Grand Junction for decades had been just an agriculture area until it was advertised as a great place to retire after the oil shale crash of 1982. Lately I've seen several of the mom and pop motels along North Ave. and also south U.S. Hwy. 50 being converted into efficiency apartments (I call them bachelor pad apartments my self). The down side to this would be the traffic noise but the upside is that these type places are at least 50% cheaper than living on the Front Range.

I've met a few retirees in my travels on the western slope and they are all pretty much male retirees. A couple of them travel light. In fact, what they do is spend their winters in Arizona. One guy lives in Green Valley which is south of Tucson, one in Apache Junction which is east of Phoenix, and another in Quartzite. One of them quoted a price he pays for a monthly rate and IIRC pays in the $500 range.

They are not interested in buying any real estate and in fact a couple of them told me regarding milennials, "hey if I was only making average money" (Grand Junction's pay scale is pretty iffy) I would want a small place. I don't want a house with multiple levels, I don't need extra bathrooms, and I damn sure don't need a utility bill where I have to take a second job to cover my bills."

[rochester_veteran]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

I've met a few retirees in my travels on the western slope and they are all pretty much male retirees. A couple of them travel light. In fact, what they do is spend their winters in Arizona. One guy lives in Green Valley which is south of Tucson, one in Apache Junction which is east of Phoenix, and another in Quartzite. One of them quoted a price he pays for a monthly rate and IIRC pays in the $500 range.

They are not interested in buying any real estate and in fact a couple of them told me regarding milennials, "hey if I was only making average money" (Grand Junction's pay scale is pretty iffy) I would want a small place. I don't want a house with multiple levels, I don't need extra bathrooms, and I damn sure don't need a utility bill where I have to take a second job to cover my bills."

I feel the same way! I'm early retiring next year and moving to Cos to be closer to my younger son, daughter in law and my grandson, who currently live in Castle Rock. No way can I afford rent in CR, but in my searches on Zillow and Craigslist, I'm finding 1 bedroom apartments in the $700-$800 range in Cos that would suit me just fine. I don't need, nor do I want a big place. I just want to retire and live a simple life, enjoy the attractions of Colorado (hiking and biking for me) and be a part of my grandson's and my son's and his wife's lives. I lived in Denver in the early 80s and am still friends with folks from back then. I also have friends who now live in Cos, another who lives in the Black Forest (she had to rebuild after the fire) and a buddy I was in the service with who lives in Grand Junction, so it's not like I'm moving to Colorado not knowing anybody. I just hope that my daughter and older son join us so my family will be together again!

[rochester_veteran]

I just read this article on another web forum. It's about the NIMBY objections from residents of existing neighborhoods near proposed tiny home developments:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/tiny-hous...162938159.html

[LHS79]

Not too many folks want to live (or be next to) a trailer park- just sayin'!

Usually on the "COPS" tv show these are the places the police are always going to.

[Vision67]

Originally Posted by rochester_veteran

I just read this article on another web forum. It's about the NIMBY objections from residents of existing neighborhoods near proposed tiny home developments:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/tiny-hous...162938159.html

Most neighborhoods have houses that sell in a fairly narrow range.

I had a friend who had retired and wanted to build a smaller than usual new house in an HOA community. He wanted just 1200 sq ft in a community that averaged 2300 sq ft. They rejected his plans.

I would expect it to be very difficult to get established communities to accept tiny houses.

[orngkat]

The irony is that there are probably a lot of empty rooms (not being used) in these over-sized houses. Case in point, we had to buy a bigger house that we wanted as that is what there is here. Lots of tri-levels and splits with multiple floors. Great for the Brady Bunch but not sure there will be lots of large families to live in them as time goes by. Maybe they will be subdivided into apartments. There is a real need and market for smaller houses but the old paradigm is too strong.

[otowi]

If any of you have watched any of those tiny house TV shows, there are some tiny home communities out there in other states that are definitely several steps above 'trailer park'. A lot of these houses have some pretty amazing features. I think there are some resort communities that rent out tiny homes and make big bucks doing it. I think there are creative ways people are going about this that could work here and some developers/planners etc. here are lacking vision and missing out on a potentially good market.