Living
LARGE
Alum’s little neighborhood of tiny homes is taking off in big ways
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By JOEY JOHNSTON, ’81
N THE OUTSKIRTS OF TAMPA, people are living large in a village of tiny homes. They are fully functional, handsome-looking dwellings, ranging from 350 to 600 square feet. Who’s in? Everyone from millennials to retirees, physicians to business owners to college professors. Tiny homes: An HGTV programming gimmick? More like an American phenomenon. “Our business is out of control and the demand is exponentially growing,’’ says Dan Dobrowolski, geography ’79, a TV meteorologist-turned-serial entrepreneur who developed ESCAPE Tampa Bay Village. It began in 2020 with 10 tiny homes on a secluded property in Thonotosassa, a semi-rural Tampa suburb far from the urban core, but still close to everything. When Phase Two is completed ESCAPE’s population will triple. Who knows where it goes from there? “It was growing at a rapid pace and COVID put gasoline on the fire,’’ Dobrowolski says. “People figured out in a hurry they didn’t want to be in an apartment building or condo, all jammed together. They wanted their own safe space. “People are figuring out they can live so much cheaper in something about 20 percent of the (normal) cost and it’s less than living in an apartment. Why would you not want to own it?’’ The next phase of homes in the little neighborhood will start at $120,000. Ray Pelaez, a digital marketing entrepreneur, gave up
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It’s 21st Century living. Some people don’t want the big yard and all that maintenance. Our homes are beautiful, functional and versitile.”
– Dave Peterson
a Hyde Park apartment near downtown Tampa to move into his tiny home. The bedroom he still has at his parents’ 3,500-square-foot home is probably larger than his current 450-square-foot home at ESCAPE. But it doesn’t feel small. “The way these places are laid out, the storage is great and I don’t feel like I have sacrificed anything,’’ he says. “I was talking to a buddy who said, ‘How’s the minimal living going?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’
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UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
USF alumnus Dan Dobrowolski, geography ’79, developed ESCAPE Tampa Bay Village.
“At one time, I had a lot of space. Too much space. I was almost like a hoarder. I had a two-car garage literally filled to the brim with stuff. The downsizing forces you to realize what’s important in life. I feel liberated. My new dream is having a bunch of acres, plopping one of these houses in the middle, and being very comfortable.’’ For now, Pelaez is spending all the money he’s saving on a Tesla and a planned trip around the world. “People are finding they can adjust their thinking, change the way they live and maybe be able to afford a bunch of more toys,’’ says Dave Peterson, ESCAPE’s development director. “It’s 21st Century living. Some people don’t want the big yard and all that maintenance. Our homes are beautiful, functional and versatile.’’ Fully assembled in Wisconsin and transported to Florida, they’re also classified as recreational vehicles, so they can be towed to a campground or other vacation spot. “It just makes sense to jump out of the normal rat race that everybody is so used to,’’ Pelaez says. That was Dobrowolski’s thinking nearly three decades ago when he left his television career for good and acquired the land to build Canoe Bay, a 300-acre getaway destination in
