Cottage Court Progress: Community Center Exterior 90% Done, First Tiny Homes Framed

This is what progress looks like. A visit to the Cottage Court at Veterans 1st of NEW revealed real movement on the ground — concrete, framing, mechanicals, and the kind of community building you can actually walk through.

✅ 2 tiny homes framed

✅ Community Center exterior 90% done

✅ 4 tiny home concrete slabs being poured soon

✅ 6 tiny home sites being excavated

Community Center outside: 90% complete

The Community Center is the hub of the Cottage Court — and from the outside, it's nearly buttoned up. Only a few exterior doors and finishing touches are left. Inside, insulation is going in now, with sheetrock scheduled to start later this week.

Inside the Community Center

Walk through the front door and the layout starts to make sense quickly. The Community Center will include a lobby and staff offices, a reflection room serving as a museum honoring Wisconsin veterans — uniforms, memorabilia, and stories from those who served — a full kitchen for civic groups and family gatherings, a commons area, laundromat, bathrooms, and a dedicated mail call area. A conference room rounds it out, hosting on-site counseling and case management so veterans don't have to navigate services on their own.

The first two tiny homes are framed

The first two tiny homes are fully framed and crews are running all the rough mechanicals right now — plumbing, heating, and electrical. The next phase is already lined up: concrete slabs for four more units pour soon, and excavators are prepping the ground for the six homes after that.

Home sizes & on-site services

When the Cottage Court is complete, it will include 21 homes total — 17 single-resident homes at 400 sq ft, plus 4 two-bedroom homes at 600 sq ft designed as transitional housing for veterans experiencing shelter instability, giving them a faster path back to stable housing. Combined with the on-site counseling and case management in the Community Center, the goal is simple: meet veterans where they are.

Volunteers

Several volunteer groups have already been on site, with more expected through the summer. What makes these visits hit different is the personal connection — family members of veterans, veterans themselves, neighbors who just want to show up. Those stories keep the crew going. If you'd like to volunteer or support the project, stay tuned — opportunities will keep rolling out as the busy summer construction season ramps up.

Why filming this one matters

Filming a project like this is the reason we do this work. My dad was a veteran, so being trusted to document the Cottage Court as it goes up — slab by slab, frame by frame — isn't just another shoot. It's a chance to put a camera on something that's actually going to change lives, and to make sure the people building it get the credit they deserve.

Thank you to Gail Nohr and Kim Nohr for trusting us with this progress update. A monumental, impactful project that will help a lot of veterans.