The Village on Sage Street

Workforce Housing in Reno, Nevada

Case Study Summary: Located in Reno, Nevada and opened in July 2019, The Village on Sage Street is a 216-unit dorm-style housing development for people who are working or on a low fixed income and unable to afford rent. The Village showcases what can happen when the development industry, service providers, and city officials come together to support the local workforce by developing gap housing to help individuals build savings and access permanent housing.

This project came together when local developers identified eight prefabricated modular buildings that offered temporary workforce housing in Wyoming. The developers encouraged the city of Reno to donate four acres of land on the east side of the city, then the buildings in Wyoming were dismantled and transported to Reno and repurposed to provide affordable workforce housing called The Village on Sage Street. The private-sector development team, along with the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada and other private-sector individuals and companies, donated funds and in-kind support to develop The Village as a self-sustaining project, funded by private contributions with no subsidies.

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Interested in ULI’s work on addressing homelessness? In 2022, the Terwilliger Center for Housing, with initial funding by philanthropist and entrepreneur Preston Butcher, launched the Homeless to Housed Initiative, which works to explore real estate solutions to the growing crisis impacting communities everywhere. Learn more about the ULI Homeless to Housed Initiative.

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Elizabeth Okeke-Von Batten

Founder and Adviser, Context Ventures