As the Department of Veterans Affairs continues a push toward eliminating homelessness among the nation's veterans, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit is opening an apartment complex it hopes will serve as a model for sheltering former service members.
A 47-unit garden apartment complex known as Veterans Village is set to open in the coming weeks in the city's Frankford neighborhood, providing affordable housing to veterans who have recently left the service or are in emergency shelters or temporary housing.
As a result of the complex's modular construction, the units were built in just four months at a cost of roughly $6 million, one-third the cost of conventional construction of a low-end apartment complex, despite included touches like stainless steel appliances.
Read Next: Cut Down Defense Spending ‘Wish Lists,' Lawmakers Tell Pentagon
The pieces of modular buildings are constructed in Hamlet, North Carolina, and contain all the necessary components for a home, including the electrical and plumbing systems and finished surfaces.
They were transported to Philadelphia and pieced together on site, requiring essentially “seaming work” to connect the pieces and waterproof the building, including installing a roof, according to Dana Spain, a Philadelphia real estate developer and president of the nonprofit that built Veterans Village.
