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  • Writer's pictureElizabeth Mahan

The Cottages Part I: City Square

I arrived at the wrong address, my first travel fail so far. However, rather than meeting at the office downtown, I’d brought myself to The Cottages at Hickory Crossing property and landed myself a tour.


There are 50 cottages and two shipping container turned living units on the site. It shifts between public to social to private zones, with the units oriented in clusters of 6-8. On the exterior is a public laundry facility usable by non-residents, and once inside everything is centered around the large open green space. Residents helped designate the addition of trees and plants, and as focus groups provided the basis of the design. The clusters of units allow for shared coffee drinking in the morning and porch socializing on sunny afternoons.

City Square flipped the typical barriers for securing housing to requiring residents to be chronically homeless, struggling with mental illness, and have a criminal record.

The main point of entry includes offices for case workers, psychiatrists and all types of necessary resources, with the property managers and security on site 24/7. Each staff member forms relationships with the residents and helps them assimilate to living indoors and being self-sufficient. If you’re coming from living in a tent or prison, you have to relearn the basics like washing clothes and sweeping the floor.


The units:

Originally fully furnished by City Square down to the toothbrush, many items grew legs, so new residents are responsible for personalizing their spaces. At 400sf + 30sf porch, the units include a basic kitchen, soft seating, small dining table, bed, closet, and bathroom. The doors are all barn style to take up less space. Storage is built in where it can be, and each unit has its own alarm, providing security and the ability to call for help. Windows were installed slightly higher, so it’s easier for residents to look out, but not have someone look in. During the research phase many said, “If I had my own place all I'd want to do is take a bath and cook my own food.”





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