The St. Petersburg Tiny Home Festival, sponsored in part by Ivy Group’s Sustainable Living Foundation, was a huge success. Over 1800 people flocked to St. Petersburg Eco Village to attend tiny home workshops and tour the 10 tiny homes on display.

Photo Credit: Charlie Kaijo, Tampa Bay Times

The event raised $10,000 that will be used to further tiny home and alternative housing development locally. Ivy Group’s sustainable technologies specialist Scott Bitterli, through our Sustainable Living Foundation, is at the forefront of these efforts. Working hand in hand with St. Petersburg Eco Village and the City of St. Petersburg, he is working to develop a tiny home community, legalize living in tiny homes on wheels, and help others take action on their own tiny house ideas.

Sustainability efforts have become a centerpiece of Scott’s life, both professionally and personally.

Scott Bitterli, CDT, LEED GA

In 2013, he helped establish the St. Petersburg Sustainability Council, a non-profit community organization focusing on local environmental issues and developments, while promoting sustainability. He is now leading the formation of the Ivy Group Sustainable Living Foundation, which exists to explore and promote sustainable housing and building strategies, techniques, materials, and practices, to improve quality of life without compromising the quality of life for future generations.

Scott has even designed a 3D model for his own tiny home, to be inhabited by himself and his parter, Jasmina. The pair are talking with local builders and plan to have a finished home later this year. They are working closely with St. Petersburg building and zoning officials to develop a tiny home village and make it legal to live in tiny homes on wheels.

Due to their low environmental impact, tiny homes are growing in popularity among people looking to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Some of the challenges of building tiny include zoning and code compliance, and ensuring an energy-efficient design.

Photo Credit: Charlie Kaijo, Tampa Bay Times

With Scott’s uncommon expertise in tiny homes and tiny home communities, and our firm’s extensive building science and building code knowledge, Ivy Group is thrilled to be a part of the flourishing tiny home movement. We see a bright future for sustainable building and development in St. Pete.