LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A project to build tiny homes for homeless Louisville veterans isn't happening anytime soon after the land it was supposed to be built on was sold back to the person who donated it.
The Veteran’s Club of Louisville planned on building a community of container homes on Stuart Avenue, off Dixie Highway, in south Louisville for homeless veterans called Camp Restoration.
But a recent Facebook post by developer Chris Thieneman showed the deal was no longer happening, with Thieneman buying the land back from Veteran’s Club for $250,000 — land he originally donated to the nonprofit.
“Our board decided that we should not do this right now due to lack of support and due to all the things that were going on in the city at the time,” said Jeremy Harrell, founder and CEO of The Veteran’s Club.
Harrell said he had been talking with Metro Council about the project and wanted a meeting with them, but the because of the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and other Veteran's Club programs, it never happened.
A recent Facebook post by developer Chris Thieneman, who donated the land on Stuart Avenue for Camp Restoration.
Council members Anthony Piagentini, R-19, Cindi Fowler, D-14, and Amy Holton Stewart, D-25, expressed their disappointment with the project falling through. They said the appropriated $3.5 million to $4.5 million from the city's American Rescue Plan fund had bipartisan support, though it had not yet been voted on.
“We were doing our work and we were ready to move forward," Piagentini said. "And for this to be pulled out from under us at the 11th hour ... it's shocking and the people it will hurt the most are the veterans."
An aerial view of the land on Stuart Avenue, off Dixie Highway in south Louisville, where Camp Restoration was set to be built. (WDRB photo)
But Thieneman said that wasn't the case.
“The rug wasn't pulled out from underneath them, they knew exactly ... Jeremy (Harrell) was telling them everything along the way,” he said.
Harrell said six days after the project broke ground, shutdowns began because of the coronavirus pandemic. To date, the project had raised less than $50,000, he added. Now, the $250,000 Veteran’s Club received from Thieneman buying the property back will now be used for several of the nonprofit's other programs including its equine program, the Veteran’s Village, Lady Vets program and Family Outreach.
This rendering shows what Camp Restoration, a community of tiny container homes for homeless Louisville veterans, was expected to look like.
“We lost several hundred thousand dollars worth of donations for the year of 2020 alone, and so we just had to make the decision based on what we knew was facts,” Harrell said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Greg Fischer’s Office said the club sold back the land before applying for any funds.
The land on Stuart Avenue is near bus stops and both sides of Metro Council agreed it would have been a convenient location. Harrell said if he knew for sure the project was getting the ARP money, it would still have been difficult based on the low amount raised so far.
“It doesn't mean at all that we are not going to do it, because we still have that design and we still want to do it ... (it) just means that now wasn't the time,” Harrell said.
It unclear what will happen to the property now that Thieneman owns it again, but he said he's working with Develop Louisville to help with the city's homeless situation.
Related Stories:
- Louisville group enlisting help to build Camp Restoration for homeless veterans
- Project to house homeless veterans in Louisville looking to get back on track after pandemic delays
- Ceremony marks beginning of project to create tiny home community for Louisville veterans
- Tiny home community for Louisville veterans slated for 2020 groundbreaking
- Plans in the works for tiny home community for homeless veterans in Louisville
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