Branson development places first 8 tiny homes in project

Bryan Stallings: Funding is available to build all 70 Elevate Community homes.

A two-day project that involved a roughly 90-ton, 200-foot-tall crane lifting several houses and placing them on permanent foundations signaled the next step for Elevate Community, a tiny home community under construction in Branson. 

Eight fully constructed, 400-square-foot homes are now in place for Elevate Branson’s multimillion-dollar project that started construction last year on 5 acres north of its 310 Gretna Road campus. The village development started by the nonprofit, which focuses on combatting poverty in the Branson area, targets people who are on a fixed income living at or below the area median income, said Bryan Stallings, Elevate Branson co-founder and CEO.

The placement of the homes on their foundations by Carthage-based Ozark Crane Services Inc. took place March 18-19 and is part of a 48-unit first phase for the project that sits on land donated by the Herschend Family Foundation. In all, Stallings said there’s enough property to accommodate 70 tiny homes, adding the project has adequate funding to build all of them. 

“The utilities are there to the house, so now we just have to do the connections,” Stallings said of the first eight homes. “Hopefully, we can get everything prepared for the certificate of occupancy within the next 45 to 60 days, maybe sooner.”

Neosho-based Village Home Builders is manufacturing the houses for Elevate Community, Stallings said, adding 36 of the homes are sponsored. Elevate Branson also purchased the adjacent eastern 10 acres in 2022 from Ozark Plaza Development LLC as Stallings said that property was needed to install a gravity-fed sewer, which reduces expenses versus putting in a lift station sewer, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. 

“The folks over in Neosho have another 16 over there that are completed for us,” Stallings said, adding he’d like to get 12 more homes sponsored to cover the first phase’s 48 units. 

Stallings said almost $7 million for the project has been acquired from publicly funded grants and programs, including a $1 million grant from the American Rescue Plan Act, along with various private donors. He said the rise of housing costs is contributing to an increase in the project’s price tag, which he estimated will likely exceed $10 million. That includes on-site commercial buildings to provide employment training opportunities.

“We want to have opportunity to employ the residents that live there,” he said, noting the buildings may house an art studio, marketplace and thrift store. “We’ll have to look at grant opportunities, sponsor donors for those commercial buildings. Our first priority, we want to get the housing done.”

Overcoming delays
The project, which was first announced in 2020, has experienced myriad delays to start construction over the past few years, such as easement and engineering issues, a cultural review and artifact dig of the site requested by the Osage tribe and environmental reviews, according to past SBJ reporting. Stallings said permitting issues with the city of Branson also impacted the development after footings and foundations were first poured at the site last year. 

“We ended up having to have multiple meetings with city administration, attorneys and finally everybody got on the same page back in late September,” Stallings said. “It was a difficult and challenging process.”

Mariya Serykh, communications manager for the city of Branson, declined an SBJ interview request on behalf of Amanda Ross, Planning and Development director.

Hollister-based Flat Creek Excavating LLC, which was the project’s low bidder at $2.54 million, is wrapping up its excavation work. The company had contracts with the city and Elevate Branson for the development’s infrastructure, Stallings said.

“Most of their work is done on the city contract,” Stallings said. “Then we’re having them just do some odd and end things on the private side, like digging out for the foundations and taking the utilities to the houses and things like that.”

A bid opening that will fund the furnishing and delivery of 10 of the homes and installation of concrete foundations is set for March 30. Work will likely begin on those promptly, Stallings said.

“That ARPA money has to be spent by Dec. 11, so we’ve got to move on it really quick,” he said. 

Sponsor aid
Stallings said it was “pretty surreal” to watch the first homes be placed by the cranes, noting that how they line up with each other and the road helps paint a picture of what the development will look like upon completion.

“We’re pretty blessed to be able to have the number of house sponsors and the number of donors that we’ve had with no houses on the ground,” Stallings said, adding house sponsorships cost $45,000 each.

Home sponsors include Arvest Bank, The Bank of Missouri and The Butterfly Palace.

Opportunities to sponsor private roads that will be in the development also are being offered for $50,000, he said. Additionally, smaller sponsorships are available, such as landscaping at $7,500, furniture at $6,500 and home essentials including bed linens, bath towels and kitchen supplies at $2,500, according to its website.

Applications for residency far exceed the number of homes available, Stallings said, adding a wait list will be created. Over 260 applications have been received, and an intake team at Elevate Branson has selected the first 10 residents, he said. 

All Elevate Community houses are for individuals or couples, Stallings said. They are fully furnished one-bedroom, one-bath homes with kitchen, dining and living room spaces. Rent is set at $495 a month with utilities and trash removal included.

Eligibility requirements are that occupants have lived in Taney County for the past 12 months and have income at or below 50% of the area median income. According to the Elevate Community application, the income limit is listed as $26,600 for an individual and $30,400 for a married household of two. 

Despite the hurdles Elevate Branson has encountered along the way, Stallings said he’s excited to see the first tenants move in this year.

“You don’t do it for any accolades; you certainly don’t do it for the struggles that it takes,” he said. “You do it to see the hope that it provides the individuals that are going to live there.”