Dignitaries and future homeowners gather at the site of the new Habitat for Humanity building project in the south-end community of Southlands on Friday morning.--NEWS PHOTO COLLIN GALLANT
Two single-parent families in Medicine Hat will be working on their new homes this winter after a rush this fall to get digging on the new Habitat for Humanity project in Medicine Hat.
About two dozen dignitaries, Habitat volunteers, the families and construction officials gathered in Southlands for a sod-turning ceremony.
The basement has already been dug however, as delays caused by the pandemic that stalled the project were overcome this month.
The group offers qualified candidates the chance to provide “sweat equity” in lieu of a down payment, then a reasonable mortgage rate thereafter.
“All of our volunteers and anyone who has shopped at our Re-Store have contributed to this project,” said local Habitat chapter co-chair Annette Fahselt-Andreas.
“Our community has a need for affordable housing (and) with these builds we are able to fill a gap as well as make someone’s dream of owning a home come true.”
The group’s 11th project in Medicine Hat will be a modern duplex, with each unit measuring about 1,500 square feet. The construction budget for each unit is about $250,000, said Grrad Oishi, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Southern Alberta.
The City of Medicine Hat provided a discount on the lot in the subdivision when the project was first announced in late 2017.
Support from the Alberta government, ATB Financial, the Medicine Hat Realtors Charitable Foundation was also provided.
DL Excavating and Mulder Builders are providing services.
The units should be complete at the end of next summer.
