KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A single plot of land off Swope Parkway could eventually become nine new homes for members of the LGBTQ community who need a place to live.

It’s part of Our Spot KC’s Iron House transitional and rapid rehousing program.

“Housing was something that was identified from the community that we serve that we need our own housing, we need our own safe space, we need our own resources,” said Our Spot KC Executive Director Star Palmer.

So far, Our Spot has been using voucher programs to pay rent, and sometimes utilities, at properties around Kansas City for people who might get shut out of other community programs.

“We know that that’s an issue that we deal with with our community often times,” Palmer said. “Folks not being able to access services based on who they are and who they love.”

That’s a hard program to continue when competing with rising market prices for housing across the metro and nation.

“What we did notice is that there’s an affordable housing crisis, as we all know in Kansas City, so we had to go from just providing those services into development,” Palmer said.

That pivot has lead to a cottage project on the east side where one plot of land will have nine small units, from studios to three-bedroom homes, drawn up by DRAW Architecture + Urban Design.

“That’s really important because it allows us to accommodate a wide variety of families that are looking for housing,” said DRAW Founder Dominique Davison.

The cottages will like the edges of the property with an asphalt drive in between them ending in a common area in the back.

“So as you stand in the middle and look down the central drive, each of the cottage porches is a different color of the pride flag,” Davison said. “We really wanted this village to become a celebration of the LGBTQ community.”

The land is shovel-ready and Palmer says Our Spot hopes to start building in the fall with the first tenants moving in next year.

“If it’s colorful and vibrant, we know that greenspace and activity space directly affect the quality of health, the quality of life all the way from children up to adults,” Palmer said.