Groundbreaking Held for Tiny Homes for Veterans

Ceremonial groundbreaking for Veterans Community Project tiny home community. Left to right – Tim Albrecht, Larresa Taylor, Bryan Meyer, Tony Evers, Mark Solomon, Patrick Testin, David Crowley and Cecelia Gore. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Help is on the way.

Construction is beginning on a new community of 40 tiny homes for military veterans experiencing homelessness. By this time next year, the first residents may have already moved in.

Monday afternoon, Missouri-based developer Veterans Community Project (VCP) gathered with donors, supporters and area politicians at the site, 6767 N. 60th St., to celebrate the start of the long-awaited project.

“Any given night, there are at least 30,000 men and women who served in uniform who are sleeping on the streets throughout the nation. This is a real problem that affects people who are willing to put the cloth of their nation on,” said VCP co-founder Mark Solomon.

VCP took over the project in 2022 from Veterans Outreach of Wisconsin, which proposed the project in 2019 as a follow-up to its Racine project, then was unable to advance the development.

Built in two phases, the homes are to be about 240 square feet each. Eight larger units for families will be up to 340 square feet and accommodate as many as five people. Unit interiors are tailored toward each veteran, including decorations honoring their service branch.

A community center will include flexible space for meetings and events, as well as administrative office space.

Residents are expected to stay only for a period of months while they receive supportive services and eventually transition to permanent housing. When they leave, a VCP representative said, residents can take anything in their unit that isn’t a fixture — even the refrigerator. VCP touts an 85% success rate.

“It’s no secret that veterans and military families face many unique challenges in their daily lives. Helping folks find quality, supportive housing, health care, fulfilling careers, and more are factors that allow families to live and have a stable, full life,” said Governor Tony Evers.

More than 300 veterans are estimated to be experiencing homelessness in Wisconsin.

The 2025-2027 Wisconsin biennial budget provided $2.5 million for the $11 million project.

Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point) is credited with shepherding the allocation through the budget process. He in turn credits project consultant Buddy Julius with introducing him to the project, and showing him the demonstration house that was set up during Summerfest.

“For me, this was a no-brainer. Public-private partnerships are really what are going to move the needle,” he said. Milwaukee Tool, Generac, U.S. Venture, Molson Coors and the Milwaukee Brewers Community Foundation are all sponsoring the project.

Milwaukee Tool Group President Tim Albrecht said the company’s involvement was driven by lab manager Bill Malzewski, who, in 2016, participated in constructing VCP’s first development. He’s now chairing the fundraising effort locally. Before VCP became involved, Milwaukee Tool contributed $35,000 to help the prior group purchase the undeveloped city-owned site

VCP CEO Bryan Meyer said the vision started with just a single community in Kansas City. A Marine who served multiple tours in Iraq, Meyer said he struggled to reintegrate to society and ended up in legal trouble, but a judge helped him get counseling.

“I was lucky enough to run into a handful of other veterans in Kansas City who all felt the same way. We all said to ourselves, there’s got to be something a little bit better out there for veterans,” he said.

The organization now has facilities in Missouri, South Dakota and Colorado.

Brewers foundation manager Cecilia Gore said the project is one late team radio broadcaster Bob Uecker would have loved to support.

“As a veteran, it’s extremely important to me that we find ways of servicing veterans in our community. And so I’m very grateful that VCP has picked District 9 to become part of and to do that work,” said area Alderwoman Larresa Taylor, who inherited the project when she was elected in 2023. Her colleagues Mark Chambers, Jr. and Andrea Pratt joined her at the event.

“It’s important that we have stable and supportive housing for as many residents as possible, and that includes our vets,” said County Executive David Crowley. He said the tiny homes community fit into the county’s Housing First approach to reducing homelessness.

The nonprofit, said national expansion director Ben Hendershot in 2024, focuses on maintaining a 10-to-1 ratio of residents to staff members. It works to connect residents with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other service providers. A VCP representative said Monday that the organization would finalize specific service offerings when it hires its first local staff.

Fundraising continues for the project, with more than $5 million raised.

Beyond the tiny homes, the city intends to eventually develop the rest of the 40-acre Bacher Farm site, extending W. Green Tree Road west and installing utilities.

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