Kindness Village to Build a New Model for Attainable Housing
The Californer/10356971

EAST BAY, Calif. - Californer -- Kindness Village, an initiative of HeartatWork LLC, is moving forward with plans for an attainable, mixed-income, intergenerational housing community designed around attainability, belonging and sustainability.

The proposed Village will include approximately 40 prefab homes ranging from 400 to 1,200 square feet, along with shared outdoor spaces, gardens and, in a later phase, a community hub.

Kindness Village is designed in part for people increasingly caught between income-restricted affordable housing and market-rate housing they can no longer comfortably afford—including working adults, retirees, gig workers, healthcare and essential workers.

"California doesn't simply need more housing. We need more choices," said Mari-Lyn Harris, Founder of Kindness Village. "I believe we can create homes that are more attainable while also creating something many people are missing—a genuine sense of belonging."

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Harris calls the concept "belonging as infrastructure."

"We plan communities around roads, water and electricity. What if we were equally intentional about creating opportunities for human connection?"

Moving From Vision to Development

Kindness Village is currently seeking $50,000 for its Pre-Development & Site Feasibility Initiative to support land due diligence, zoning analysis, preliminary site planning, infrastructure feasibility and financial modeling.

The project is also seeking relationships with community banks, foundations, nonprofit and development partners, landowners, prefab builders, employers, local governments, impact investors and advisors interested in helping create the first Village.

"Our goal isn't simply to build one community," Harris said. "We want to create a model that can be learned from, improved and eventually replicated elsewhere."

About Kindness Village

Kindness Village is an initiative of Heart@Work focused on creating attainable, mixed-income, intergenerational housing centered around community, sustainability and belonging.  https://heartatworkonline.org/kindness-village-community/