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The North Collin County Habitat for Humanity is beginning its initial phases of getting ready to build six to seven homes for families in phase two of its Charleston Court subdivision next spring.
The houses will be located in phase two of the Charleston Court subdivision on Pride Court, east of State Highway 5, between U.S. 380 and U.S. 75. Anyone interested in being able to live in one of those houses can attend a seminar from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the McKinney Memorial Public Library. The seminar will detail what is required of a family to be able to get a Habitat for Humanity home. One of those requirements is that the family must spend 300 “sweat equity” hours in construction of either their own home or of other homes built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers.
Builders selected lots Wednesday in phase two of the Charleston Court subdivision at the Habitat for Humanity office. The houses are expected to be built beginning the last week in May 2008 and should be completed by the first week in June 2008. Local builders and employees from David Weekly Homes, Darling Homes, Cain Construction and GG Cain Custom Homes, Step Builders, K Hovnanian Homes, Mercedes Homes, and independent builder Kirk Stephens chose lots for phase two. Some of the builders are partnering to work on one house each. The homes are usually about 1,200 square feet and have carports. A three-bedroom Habitat for Humanity house typically costs $55,000 to build and a four-bedroom house typically costs $60,000 to build, said Celeste Faro, executive director of the NCC Habitat for Humanity.
The families who will live in the homes should be chosen by September or October, Faro said. The plans for the homes should be finalized no later than January 2008 and slabs should be ready to be built upon in May 2008. The NCC Habitat for Humanity expects to have all certificates of occupancies for the homes by June 30 of next year, Faro said.
Jeff Harris, a plans examiner for the city of McKinney, said he wants to bring in someone from the city’s Planning Department to attend meetings for next summer’s home building blitz to address any issues that could be ongoing with the site, such as erosion issues.
Representatives from Insulation for Life, which uses Icynene insulation that does not contain the air-polluting chemicals hydrochloroflourocarbons, hydroflourocarbons, or formaldehyde, also attended Wednesdays’ meeting and are donating some insulation for the homes. The final plat for the lots in phase two of the subdivision should be released by the city of McKinney next week, Faro said.
While families have yet to be selected for the homes that will be built in phase two of the subdivision, one McKinney family recently got some financial help and donations to get a Habitat for Humanity home built in phase one of Charleston Court. The house will be built this fall for Diane Holmes, who is living in McKinney after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina, which struck her home in New Orleans in August 2006. It is being partially paid for through a $10,000 cash donation and $15,000 from in-kind materials that Simpson Strong-Tie donated to Habitat for Humanity International.
The 32-year-old Holmes and her children, Tyree, 14, who attends McKinney North High School, and Tyreione, 12, who attends Dowell Middle School, are excited to have a home to call their own, Holmes said.
“I’m extremely proud and determined. This is just a great feeling to even be able to accomplish having a home for my family through Habitat,” she said.
If anyone would like to have the NCC Habitat for Humanity build a home for them or their family and are willing to volunteer 300 hours in helping to build their home, call Habitat Family Support member Olive Swearingen. If anyone would like to volunteer, contact volunteer coordinator Contessa Corkern at the NCC Habitat for Humanity office at 972-542- 5300, ext. 103, or attend the volunteer orientation meeting at 7 p.m. July 26 at the Habitat office at 701 S. Tennessee St.
Contact staff writer Brandi Hart at hartb@acnpapers.com. To post comments online, access this story at www.scntx.com.
