CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Advocates for the homeless came up with what they believe to be a better option than tents. The city shut it down.
The Orange Tent Project, which has placed orange ice-fishing tents in various encampments, worked with architecture students at the Illinois Institute of Technology on a tiny house design.
The house was supposed to be about 400 square feet with no utilities or permanent foundation, according to the design. The idea was getting around permits, but It didn’t work.
The Chicago Sun- Times reports the house was going up in the camp along the Dan Ryan Expressway at Roosevelt Road and the work started on March 3.
The city issued a stop work order, saying it was being built without plans or permits.
Morgan McLuckie, chief executive of the Orange Tent Project, told the Sun-Times that she was under the impression that they tiny house did not require permits and has been in touch with the department, providing information she found during the design process.
The home was intended for an 80-year-old veteran living in the camp. He was found dead in his tent the day before construction started.
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