The Other Side Village Nears Completion With Two New Tiny Duplex Units

Two newly completed tiny homes opened at The Other Side Village on March 13, marking a measurable milestone for the west Salt Lake City community working to provide permanent housing for people exiting chronic homelessness. The structure, a tiny duplex designated Units 4 and 5, was delivered through a collaboration between HomeAid Utah and Builder Captain Symphony Homes, which coordinated a team of trade partners that donated labor, materials, and expertise to complete the build.

The duplex represents the latest installment in HomeAid Utah's commitment to construct 11 units during the village's first phase. With Units 4 and 5 now open, nearly half that target has been reached through the kind of industry-wide mobilization that Executive Director Lisa Wright describes as central to HomeAid's model. "The building industry provides a unique ability to address homelessness," Wright said. "This home represents what is possible when we collaborate in our communities! Building dignified spaces for people to rebuild their lives is the essence of HomeAid."

Symphony Homes led the effort as Builder Captain, with trade partners whose donated contributions helped keep construction costs off the books of the nonprofit service providers working directly with residents, allowing those organizations to concentrate resources on recovery supports rather than building logistics.

The broader construction picture at The Other Side Village extends well beyond HomeAid's footprint. A Fox 13 News Utah report from February 16 captured the arrival of a factory-built Boxible unit at the site in Salt Lake's Poplar Grove neighborhood, with CEO Preston Cochran describing a partnership with Cass Construction, identified as Utah's premier dealer for the Boxible product. The Boxible units fold out on-site and can be set on a foundation and ready for furnishing within roughly two to three hours. Cochran noted at the time that two additional homes from the Perry Group were also slated for installation within the week.

"We have over 40 different partnerships," Cochran said in the Fox 13 video. "Most of the major home builders in Utah are involved in some way or another with The Other Side Village, whether it's building homes or helping us coordinate with different subs. We always say it takes a village to build a village, and truly this is a good example of that."

The Other Side Village is designed as a master-planned neighborhood rather than a transitional shelter, built around a culture of accountability, personal growth, and community connection. Small, permanently occupied homes serve as the foundation, but the model places equal weight on the supportive community surrounding residents. The village is also structured to become self-sustaining over time through social enterprises, with the goal of reducing reliance on ongoing donations while creating employment and training opportunities for residents.

As HomeAid Utah pushes toward its 11-unit first-phase target and multiple builder partners continue adding units, The Other Side Village is steadily becoming the self-contained community its founders envisioned.