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April 11

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CONTACT:
Emma Stokely
Public and Media Relations Manager
531-MCC-2726, office
estokely@mccneb.edu
 
MCC student-constructed tiny homes to fight homelessness to be revealed
at Siena Francis House project groundbreaking event
 
OMAHA, Neb. (April 11, 2022) — Metropolitan Community College students will celebrate their hard work at the Siena Francis House’s groundbreaking event and see how it will benefit people in the community affected by homelessness. On Tues., April 12, the Siena Francis House will break ground at noon on The Cottages, a 50-dwelling, tiny home village that sits on two acres northwest of 16th and Charles streets in Omaha.
 
In partnership with the Siena Francis House, Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture and developer, Arch Icon, MCC Construction and Building Science students built seven of the tiny homes, all of which are 300 square feet or smaller, that will support individuals transitioning out of homelessness.  
 
While working on their associate degree and in partnership with the Siena Francis House, Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture and developer, Arch Icon, MCC students built seven of the residences. They framed, roofed and completed the exterior finish of each home within the MCC Innovation Lab at the Center for Advanced and Emerging Technology (CAET) on the Fort Omaha Campus before the units were moved to the Siena Francis House property.
 
In addition to providing a unique and impactful educational experience, the tiny home project meets the learning objectives of the MCC Construction and Building Science program, said Josh Steele, MCC construction technology instructor.
 
“Our students loved being able to work on a project that is going to be able to help the community like this. It gives them a lot of pride,” Steele said. “It also gives them hands-on project experience that will be valuable to them in the workforce.”  
 
The development, managed by the Siena Francis House, will provide housing for single adults who applied to move from its apartment complex into The Cottages, the most independent housing component the nonprofit offers.
 
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Metropolitan Community College, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, is a comprehensive, public community college that offers affordable, quality education to all residents of Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy and Washington counties. Founded in 1974, MCC has the largest enrollment out of six community colleges in Nebraska and is the second largest postsecondary institution in the state. MCC serves more than 40,000 unique credit and noncredit students.