Worcester tiny homes project aims to tackle senior homelessness

Mayor Petty, Councilor Toomey push Claremont Street modular pilot for seniors; council unanimously backs plan

Renderings of the tiny homes built by Integrity, which will construct the homes for the project (photo courtesy Integrity)

WORCESTER—City officials, advocates and community partners are rallying behind a pilot project that would bring four modular “tiny homes” to Claremont Street, part of an effort to address Worcester’s growing crisis of senior homelessness, in particular.

At last week’s city council meeting, Mayor Joseph Petty requested an update on the initiative, which he described as “a pretty good plan” that deserves full support. Petty acknowledged funding hurdles but stressed the urgency: “We’ve talked about the unhoused who are 65 or older. They’re living in their cars. They’re being forced out of their house. They can’t afford it anymore. It’s another challenge we need to face here in the City of Worcester.”

The Claremont Street project is designed to provide stable, affordable housing for older adults at risk of homelessness. Each home would be a single-level, ADA-accessible cottage, built quickly and at significantly lower cost than traditional affordable housing.

Backers say the pilot could demonstrate a model that Worcester and other cities replicate at a larger scale. In the city’s five-year strategic plan, advocates identified a need for more than 100 units of permanent supportive housing.

A community collaboration

The project is being developed through a partnership among the United Way of Central Massachusetts, Worcester Community Housing Resources (which owns the Claremont property) and Open Sky Community Services, which would provide case management and support. Much of the professional expertise — from architects and engineers to attorneys — is being contributed pro bono.

Sen. Robyn Kennedy and former Sen. Harriette Chandler both spoke in staunch support of building housing and battling homelessness

So far, funding has come from a mix of sources. Worcester received a $178,000 state Department of Public Health grant, while the United Way and partners have raised more than $600,000. The total cost is estimated at $1 million, leaving about $300,000 still to secure. Worcester’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund is one option under consideration to close that gap.

“This is literally creating from hope to home,” said Tim Garvin, president and CEO of the United Way of Central Massachusetts. He said four homes will be built for under $1 million — with an expected opening as soon as early October.

Taking the mic during the public speaking portion of the council meeting, State Sen. Robyn Kennedy, D-Worcester, said that the project is part of a broader response to an escalating crisis. Between 2018 and 2022, senior homelessness in Worcester rose nearly 30 percent. “This is a city crisis,” Kennedy said, “but I’m here tonight because I know that it requires a state response.”

Former State Sen. Harriette Chandler, who has worked on housing policy for years, followed Kennedy's call, referring to the tiny homes project “a new and different approach to an old problem.” She praised the collaboration among city officials, community groups, and local designers who can construct a 624-square-foot unit in just days.

Chandler, a longtime housing policy advocate, endorsed Petty’s order. She noted that Worcester’s rental vacancy rate is among the lowest in the country, that senior homelessness has risen sharply, and argued the tiny homes pilot could demonstrate a collaborative, innovative model at a fraction of the usual cost and time. 

Looking ahead

City Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn said Worcester Community Housing Resources is leading the project, which has gone through the permitting process and is seeking final approvals. If successful, he said, the Claremont pilot could pave the way for a larger development that meets the city’s identified need for more than 100 units of supportive housing for older adults.

Integrity Modular Design and Construction, the Worcester-based company slated to build the city’s pilot tiny homes, recently became state-certified as a modular manufacturing facility. Operating out of a 42,000-square-foot plant and two-acre storage yard in Worcester, Integrity specializes in turnkey modular housing, from small accessory units to multifamily apartment buildings.

Led by architect and CEO Ron Bourque, the company positions modular construction as a cost-saving, faster alternative to traditional building. Because modules are built indoors in a climate-controlled facility, projects avoid weather delays, reduce material waste and reach completion far quicker than stick-built homes. Bourque argues that those efficiencies are particularly well-suited to easing Massachusetts’ housing crisis, though financing models have sometimes struggled to keep pace with the speed of modular construction.

Bourque shared renderings of the planned units with the Worcester Guardian, and said he believes the Claremont project — known as Seeds of Hope — can succeed in Worcester because of the city’s collaborative spirit. 

“The strength of the community leaders and their teams," he said, "who continue to search out solutions to the very difficult challenge of creating housing for those populations with few housing options… will serve as a blueprint for future development."

He added that modular construction offers both financial and community benefits: lower costs per square foot, faster build times, and energy-efficient units that reduce utility burdens for residents. Because modules are built and assembled quickly, Bourque noted, projects cause less disruption in neighborhoods and can help revitalize them.

Petty said that Worcester’s partnership with Integrity could not only advance the city’s housing goals but also spur new business opportunities for a local firm ready to scale its expertise. 

He added that Worcester’s recent rezoning efforts and partnerships with groups such as Habitat for Humanity are aimed at broadening the city’s housing stock. But he said new approaches, such as building tiny homes, will be necessary. “Every unit we build, we’re better off,” Petty said.

Mayor Joe Petty holds up the "Seeds of Hope" plan for building housing for the homeless in Worcester

City Manager Eric Batista credited Dr. Matilde Castiel, the city’s health and human services commissioner, and Chandler for pushing the idea forward. He called the project “a true definition of partnership in the city” and "the first of its kind in Worcester."

For Worcester, where homelessness has increased across all age groups and rental prices have risen nearly 40 percent in four years, supporters argue the Claremont pilot is more than symbolic. It could test whether small-scale, community-driven housing can offer dignity and stability to some of the city’s most vulnerable residents.

Context and history

The Claremont pilot is not Worcester’s first attempt to explore tiny homes. A previous project proposed for Stafford Street several years ago never materialized, largely because the COVID-19 pandemic derailed planning and financing. Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn said that effort struggled to secure housing vouchers and faced cost challenges. That makes the Claremont Street project the city’s first to move into construction.

And while the tiny house proposal is still in its early stages, Worcester has already seen momentum around compact, affordable housing models. Habitat for Humanity has built more than 30 small, efficient homes across the city, with four currently being constructed on Winfield Street. Petty noted this as proof that Worcester can deliver creative housing solutions at scale. He emphasized that, though not technically tiny homes, the Habitat projects reflect the kind of cost-conscious design the pilot seeks to replicate (the homes are generally around 400 square feet). 

A chorus of support

The council chamber heard from a wide range of voices during the public comment portion of the meeting. Worcester architect Sean Brennan, who has worked pro bono on the project, said the effort reflects both fiscal responsibility and compassion. “Between 2018 and 2020, senior homelessness in Worcester rose nearly 29 percent,” Brennan said. “This is not just a statistic. It’s people in our neighborhoods who deserve dignity and stability. The Claremont Street project delivers safe, permanent and cost-effective housing…a real solution we can replicate.”

Rendering of the inside of an Integrity modular tiny home (photo submitted)

State Sen. Robyn Kennedy, D-Worcester, also emphasized that the issue demands state-level involvement. “Elder homelessness is the fastest growing segment of the unhoused population,” she said. “This is a city crisis, but it requires a state response.”

Former State Sen. Harriette Chandler called the pilot “a new and different approach to an old problem” and noted that Worcester has one of the lowest rental vacancy rates in the country. “Good people have been struggling with this difficult problem for as long as I can remember,” she said. “I think it’s time for Worcester to try another approach.”

Councilors Kathleen Toomey and Etel Haxhiaj echoed those sentiments, while stressing the complexity of homelessness across the region, which Petty also repeated when talking to the Worcester Guardian. Toomey said tiny homes are a “realistic solution” that could overcome cost barriers. Haxhiaj cautioned against blanket assumptions about where unhoused residents come from, stressing: “If they are in our city, they are our residents. It doesn’t matter where they became homeless. They are not a burden on us.”

District 1 Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson asked whether CPA funds could possibly help close the project’s $300,000 gap, to which Batista replied it is something the city could "look into." Councilor Morris Bergman suggested that the state should require all Massachusetts communities to provide housing proportional to their homeless populations.

The Claremont Street tiny houses order was part of a larger council agenda dominated by items about homelessness. Taken together, the debate showed both the urgency and the political will behind Worcester’s newest attempt to tackle senior homelessness with a small but symbolic project — one that could expand into a 100-unit community and pull many people off the streets if it succeeds.

By: Charlene Arsenault, Worcester Guardian