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Batavia duo get grant to build accessible tiny housing for disabled

A late-night Facebook conversation about whether the tiny house trend included accessible housing got two Batavia friends thinking.

Monday, their idea, Roost Suites, got a big boost. Kohler Co. gave them $37,500 to build a prototype.

"We have been dreaming about this for three years, and we are eager to get started," Steve Heronemus said.

"We're ready to rock 'n' roll," agreed Steve Vasilion, the architect.

Heronemus, a business consultant, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Lou Gehrig's disease - in 2005. His arms, hands, tongue and vocal cords are mostly paralyzed, his neck and legs are weak, a machine breathes for him while he sleeps, and he ingests food and water through a stomach tube. He advocates for better accessibility for people with disabilities so they can have more independence.

While watching a program about tiny homes - typically 100 to 400 square feet - he didn't see any that were accessible.

He and Vasilion also thought such a space could be useful for people who need accessibility temporarily, or while they rehabilitate from an illness or injury. The space could also be useful for a person with limited mobility visiting for a few months, or for a loved one receiving hospice care.

Instead of spending money to renovate their homes to accommodate wheelchairs and hospital beds, and potentially having later to spend money to remove modifications, Vasilion said, people could buy or rent a ready-to-go Roost Suite and park it on their property. People who might otherwise have to go to a rehab center could stay close to their families, improving healing and quality of life.

A Roost Suite could be taken on vacation. Suzanne Heronemus, Steve's wife, said she would love it for that because what hotels think of as "fully accessible" often is inadequate. "The portability is wonderful," she said.

The features

The Roost Suite would be built on an RV trailer bed and be about 28 feet long and a little over 8 feet high. It would have a restroom with a roll-in shower, a kitchenette, a built-in bench couch that could be converted to a guest bed, and space for a regular or hospital bed. Heronemus and Vasilion are discussing whether to design a ramp that could be stored under the unit.

The money from Kohler will be used to buy materials for the prototype. They have contractor Dennis Kintop of One Man One Project lined up. He's volunteering and has an electrician and plumber to help. Confident Aire heating/cooling business is helping, too.

"I'm looking very much forward to this," Kintop said.

The people at Kohler are excited, according to Carl Schroeder, senior new product development program manager. He met Heronemus at a church both attend in Wisconsin.

"I think there is something more interesting about this than just giving away a few pipes and (toilet) bowls," Schroeder said. Kohler did a full-scale mock-up of the Roost's bathroom in its product development center, and had Heronemus and several other people with disabilities put it through the paces. "We learned a lot," Schroeder said.

Kohler hopes the project will help it improve products for accessible restrooms and kitchens. "You inspired us to think more deeply about it," he said.

The name

At first, the Steves were calling it a pod.

"That's the most horrible term for something we want to evoke 'home,' " Suzanne Heronemus said.

The Heronemuses are fans of birds, particularly herons, and thought about naming it a nest, but other products had that name.

"You come home to roost," she said.

"We want to connote a place of comfort," Heronemus said.

  Steve Heronemus, left, and Steve Vasilion of Batavia received a check for $37,500 from Carl Schroeder of Kohler Co. for Roost Suites. Vasilion, an architect, and Heronemus, a business consultant, are designing a portable, fully-accessible home. Susan Sarkauskas/ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com
  The inside of a Roost Suite could look like this. Susan Sarkauskas/ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com
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