By Tom Demeropolis Senior Staff ReporterCincinnati Business Courier, original article published Oct 23, 2015.

The developer of Cincinnati’s first tiny houses is getting ready to start construction on the homes in Over-the-Rhine.

Brad Cooper, who launched Start Small Homes after he received a $100,000 grant from People’s Liberty, expects construction to begin soon on the two small homes. Cooper’s project explores tiny homes as a solution to affordable housing, working to create a market-rate solution for diversely affordable home ownership opportunities.

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Construction of two tiny homes in Over-the-Rhine is expected to start soon. COURTESY START SMALL HOMES 

“We’ve had a good deal of interest,” Cooper said. Each home will be a total of 440 square feet, with 290 square feet of livable space. Each building’s footprint is 16 feet by 13 feet, roughly the size of a large second bedroom. Sansalone and Associates is the general contractor for the homes.

One of the homes will be sold at market rate, with a list price of $200,000. Going by the usable square footage, that’s about $690 per square foot.

But Cooper said it’s not fair to compare the tiny house’s price on the traditional per-square-foot measurement since it requires all of the infrastructure of a full-sized house.

The other home will be sold to a low-income household rate. Cooper said he is still working out the details on pricing for that home.

Cooper, who is a trained architect, originally wanted to price the homes at $70,000 each. The homes also were originally designed to be smaller with a total of 200 square feet of living space. But he still says at $200,000, a buyer would be getting the tiny home at a good value.

During events held throughout the summer, about 75 people have showed up to learn more about the tiny houses.

Each two-story tiny home has a kitchen and living space on the first floor complete with a refrigerator, butcher block counter and cabinets, and the second floor has a bathroom and the bedroom.

People’s Liberty, a philanthropic lab that invests directly in individuals, has helped Cooper through the process. Jake Hodesh, vice president of operations at People’s Liberty, said they have been working to understand all the processes that go along with building a tiny house.