ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After years of planning, the Tiny Home Village in Albuquerque, it’s finally complete, and the first residents have officially moved in. “I just thought to myself, you know a year ago this was an empty lot,” said Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley, who spearheaded the Tiny Homes project.
This week the Tiny Home Village near Central and Wyoming welcomed its first few residents. “I still have this image in my mind of this young man, he was opening his door. He had the key, and he was opening his door,” said O’Malley.
Since 2016, O’Malley has been working towards that very moment. The Tiny Homes serve as transitional housing for people who are homeless and are trying to get their lives back on track. O’Malley says the village would not have been possible without major community involvement, starting with voters approving a $2-million bond in 2016.
While the project is complete, O’Malley says it didn’t come without its fair share of challenges, like finding a location. Albuquerque Indian Center eventually offered to lease their land to the County for the project. Right now, the city is facing the same obstacle as it works on plans for the Gateway Center.
O’Malley says she hopes the Village will show people how positive a project like this can be. “I hope that people see this story and they see what’s happening, and they say we can support something like this in our community,” said O’Malley.
The Tiny Home Village can house about 40 people, and residents will only pay $30 a month. They expect the village to be full by June.
