Newberg Graphic Online

Building Habitat

Ministry begins construction on its next set of duplexes

• By: Amanda Newman  
• Published: 12/24/2009 1:35:42 PM
• Last Updated: 12/24/2009 3:04:06 PM

Photo By: Gary AllenPlans coming along —
Plans call for a pair of 1,000-square-foot common-wall duplexes that will house two families, both of whom must contribute so-called ‘sweat equity’ to the process.

  Building and home sales may have slowed with the economy, but one Newberg project is still going strong — Habitat for Humanity is moving forward with its latest project, a common-wall duplex at 614 N. Main St.
   Working Thursdays and Saturdays, the construction crew, staffed mostly by volunteers, has put up the first floor and is framing the second. Soon, the roof will be erected.
   “It’s well underway,” said Rick Rogers, executive director of Newberg Area Habitat for Humanity. “It took us a long time to get to the building stage, but we’re doing great.”
   Generally, Habitat for Humanity homes come from a similar mold — and to some extent, so do these. Habitat’s 14th and 15th homes will go to Teresa Hill and her children and Cheryl and Byron Porter and their two kids.
   As with all Habitat beneficiaries, they must contribute $500 and put in 500 hours of work on the house. They must be local families with demonstrated need for affordable housing and income from 25 to 50 percent of the area median. They then get to buy the house at below-market price on a no-interest loan.
   But beyond the terms of the sales, the Main Street project was different.
   “It’s a totally different design,” Rogers explained. The project had to be specifically tailored to fit site constraints, a feat completed through an in-kind donation from Scott Edwards Architecture of Portland.
   Habitat also put special effort into making the duplex energy efficient and the project economical.
   “This project is kind of a model for affordable housing, because we’re putting in a lot of energy efficient features,” Rogers said. They are using extra insulation to conserve energy, installing raingardens to contain stormwater on site, and using other methods to reduce the lumber used.
   And design isn’t the only difference on this project — Habitat will try out a new volunteer model this time around.
   “These homes will be part of what we call an Apostles Build,” Rogers explained. “We’ll be having people from 12 churches in town come out (and work on the project).”
   It’s no small project. Both duplexes are about 1,100 square feet each, with three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms. Habitat broke ground on the project in May; Rogers hopes to complete it in June. By the time the homes are finished, 400 or so individuals will have put in about 7,000 hours on the project.
   “That generosity is amazing,” Rogers said, adding that the volunteers “really become a part of ... helping people get in a home they wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise.”
   Habitat for Humanity relies largely on in-kind donations — the Main Street project is benefiting from the services of Bob Hampton Plumbing, the Saunders Company, and civil engineer Leonard Rydell, among others.
   To volunteer on the project — no skills required, Rogers said — call Amy Lodholz at 503-537-9938. For more information, visit www.newberghabitat.org.

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