After a week’s worth of some of the quickest construction Habitat for Humanity has seen, ten new houses are complete and ready for families to make them homes in Milwaukee’s Metcalfe Park neighborhood.
The Home Builders Blitz 2006, a home-building project joining the efforts of Habitat for Humanity and the Metropolitan Builders Association, started Monday, June 5 in Milwaukee and ran through Friday, June 9. In just one week, 10 Milwaukee families had a place to call their own.
Priced around $65,000, the homes were sold to 10 buyers who met Habitat’s requirements of an income less than $40,300 for a family of four and volunteering 500 hours of labor for Habitat projects.
Hickory Hill Homes, Inc. teamed up with Colby Construction Co., Inc. to construct Sophia Washington’s new home at 2446 N. 33rd St.
“Habitat gave us a floor plan and their suppliers started us out with a basement,” says Andrew Ziebell, vice president of Hickory Hills Homes. “Other than that, we’ve been working from about 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day and we basically took a house from the ground up in four days.”
Members of the Metropolitan Builders Association, as well as local suppliers and contractors donated their time, money and supplies to make sure the homes were built accurately and on-time.
“I’m just loving it,” says Washington, a single mother of one, as she stands in her new front yard. “I’m surprised how fast they worked, but it’s just beautiful. They’ve done great work and I’m very appreciative to have this opportunity.”
Washington, who was able to chose her own floor plan and siding from a variety of Habitat-provided options, is moving into her new three-bedroom home on Saturday, June 24.
All ten homes are within a three-block radius in Metcalfe Park, a neighborhood that Habitat has built for previously. This week, however, saw the most Habitat homes built at a time in Milwaukee.
“They chose this area because they are committed to helping build up neighborhood, and we got involved because we know it’s for a good cause,” says Ziebell, who wrapped up the week by landscaping the yard and painting the front porch. “It’s been a lot of work -- about 15 hours every day -- but you look back and it’s amazing to see how much we‘ve been able to accomplish.”
The 10 new homes in Milwaukee are a part of a national effort between Habitat for Humanity International and the National Association of Home Builders to produce more than 400 low-cost homes during the “Home Builders Blitz” week. It was the largest project of its kind in the United States
Milwaukee’s Habitat for Humanity’s Web site is milwaukeehabitat.org.
The Home Builders Blitz 2006, a home-building project joining the efforts of Habitat for Humanity and the Metropolitan Builders Association, started Monday, June 5 in Milwaukee and ran through Friday, June 9. In just one week, 10 Milwaukee families had a place to call their own.
Priced around $65,000, the homes were sold to 10 buyers who met Habitat’s requirements of an income less than $40,300 for a family of four and volunteering 500 hours of labor for Habitat projects.
Hickory Hill Homes, Inc. teamed up with Colby Construction Co., Inc. to construct Sophia Washington’s new home at 2446 N. 33rd St.
“Habitat gave us a floor plan and their suppliers started us out with a basement,” says Andrew Ziebell, vice president of Hickory Hills Homes. “Other than that, we’ve been working from about 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day and we basically took a house from the ground up in four days.”
Members of the Metropolitan Builders Association, as well as local suppliers and contractors donated their time, money and supplies to make sure the homes were built accurately and on-time.
“I’m just loving it,” says Washington, a single mother of one, as she stands in her new front yard. “I’m surprised how fast they worked, but it’s just beautiful. They’ve done great work and I’m very appreciative to have this opportunity.”
Washington, who was able to chose her own floor plan and siding from a variety of Habitat-provided options, is moving into her new three-bedroom home on Saturday, June 24.
All ten homes are within a three-block radius in Metcalfe Park, a neighborhood that Habitat has built for previously. This week, however, saw the most Habitat homes built at a time in Milwaukee.
“They chose this area because they are committed to helping build up neighborhood, and we got involved because we know it’s for a good cause,” says Ziebell, who wrapped up the week by landscaping the yard and painting the front porch. “It’s been a lot of work -- about 15 hours every day -- but you look back and it’s amazing to see how much we‘ve been able to accomplish.”
The 10 new homes in Milwaukee are a part of a national effort between Habitat for Humanity International and the National Association of Home Builders to produce more than 400 low-cost homes during the “Home Builders Blitz” week. It was the largest project of its kind in the United States
Milwaukee’s Habitat for Humanity’s Web site is milwaukeehabitat.org.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
