The Veterans Community Project (VCP) Village is a people-first development in St. Louis’s Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood that serves Veterans with dignity and revitalizes community support. Situated on a four-acre campus with on-site security, pet-friendly areas, and green spaces, the Village offers 50 fully furnished tiny homes and a 3,000-square-foot community center with wellness spaces, classrooms, a kitchen, and more.

From concept through construction, three core components defined the civil design-build scope: civil design documentation, underground utilities and infrastructure, and earthwork. 

The civil construction scope included:

• Excavation and grading
• Remediation of contaminated soils
• Removal of legacy building foundations
• Coordination of the building’s concrete slab and foundation construction
• Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) and erosion control
• Storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and domestic and fire water utility installations 

Located along a major bus route, the campus provides convenient access to off-site resources, including the John Cochran VA Medical Center just one mile away. Residents also have walk-in access to food pantry items, hygiene kits, and benefits and housing navigation services at the on-site Outreach Center. By selecting a partner capable of implementing an effective civil design-build approach and delivering high-quality construction, VCP brought its vision of a strong community that fosters independence and healing to life.
 

"Working with Castle through a progressive design-build approach for site preparation, earthwork, utility infrastructure and tiny home foundations helped us get started faster and provided us with flexibility as we worked through this unique project for a tiny home village in St. Louis. One example is that contaminated soils were determined to be more extensive than identified after construction started. Castle was able to utilize their internal design team to collaborate and respond quickly, providing us with a remediation solution within the original budget."

Ben Hendershot
Vice President, National Expansion, Veterans Community Project