- Video shows the current state of the Covey Cottages location.
- After breaking ground in 2019, Debra Johnson said they started seeing lumber prices increase. Then the pandemic hit. While everything stalled, the price continued to grow.
- Now, the project is finally moving forward. Covey Cottages will include 12 400-square-foot units for housing and a community center. The studio-styled homes with rent from $300 to $500 to veterans with the greatest need.
Imagine starting a project and picking up steam within the first year, only to have it all come to a screeching halt. President of the California Veterans Assistance Foundation Debra Johnson said that's what happened to Covey Cottages — a tiny homes community meant for housing qualified veterans.
“It was important for us if we’re going to finally get back into this, we need to have everything in place instead of starting and stopping," said Johnson.
After breaking ground in 2019, Johnson said they started seeing lumber prices increase. Then the pandemic hit. While everything stalled, the price continued to grow.
“We saw just a tremendous increase in the cost of construction," Johnson said. “Even though there’s a lot of subsidized housing right now, we want to make sure veterans in our community have a safe and affordable place to live.”
The foundation’s original $900,000 budget soon became $1.7 million.
“Behind the scenes, people didn’t actually see the dirt move on the lot but we actually have been working for the last two years pretty heavily," said Johnson.
Part of that work included applying for funding from the county and Home ARP funds, to offset the increase in costs. But with that came more delays.
“You know we’re at the whim of other agencies," said Johnson. "So when we got done without our environmental review which came out clean, we had to do a phase one soil study."
Now, the project is finally moving forward. Covey Cottages will include 12 400-square-foot units for housing and a community center. The studio-styled homes will rent from $300 to $500 to veterans with the greatest need.
“As we evaluate veterans in our transitional housing program, veterans who are 55, before they’re able to draw social security at 62, they’re the hardest to serve and the hardest to place in other programs," Johnson said.
Johnson said each unit will include everything renters need and they’re currently accepting bids for the project.
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