JOHN MOORHOUSE Penticton Herald:
Penticton‘s limited supply of affordable housing is about to receive a bit of a boost. Florence Barton, chair of the South Okanagan chapter of Habitat for Humanity, says plans call for two low-cost homes to be constructed in Penticton over the next two years. One will be built this year on Stocks Crescent, with a second home scheduled for construction in 2010 on Huth Avenue adjacent to Ellis Creek. City council has agreed to waive $23,000 in development cost charges and other city fees for the Huth property. The site is being donated to Habitat for Humanity by Hugo Deuschle, who will build a second home on the remainder of the subdivided lot. Barton noted the Habitat homes come with a proviso. “The house has to stay as affordable housing for at least 20 years,” she said. “The mortgage provides that Habitat has the first option to buy the property back if the people want to sell it before they finish paying for it.” If Habitat for Humanity reacquires the property, it would either have to arrange for another family to buy it at low cost, or reimburse the city for the development fees on a pro-rated basis.
Construction of the Stocks Crescent home is expected to start in April, depending on the availability of students enrolled in the construction program at Okanagan College. Maria Cox and her two teenaged children have already been selected for the home. “The family for the Stocks Crescent house is going to be there helping out and are very eager,” Barton said.
The three-bedroom home will be just under 1,100 square feet, while the Huth house will be smaller with two bedrooms and covering about 950 square feet. The family for the Huth home has yet to be chosen. It‘s hoped the Stocks house will be at lock-up stage by the end of August and be completed by the fall. Barton noted the Huth home was designed as an environmentally sustainable house by Penticton architect Cal Meiklejohn. Those plans, however, were not usable for the Stocks home since they would not fit in with the surrounding neighbourhood‘s building scheme. “But we‘ll still do as much of the environmentally sustainable stuff as we can,” she added. Habitat for Humanity completed its first South Okanagan home, on Alder Street in Summerland, in 2007. Costs, not including the price of the property itself, amounted to about $75,000 to $85,000.
Habitat for Humanity is an independent, non-profit housing program committed to eliminating poverty housing by building homes in partnership with families in need. Its goal is to provide affordable housing to those who would not qualify or be able to afford a conventional mortgage and was designed to break the poverty cycle. Meanwhile, Habitat for Humanity is looking for a volunteer to research and apply for grants for the organization in the South Okanagan. “There are a number of grants for environmentally sustainable builds and we want to apply for some,” she said. “We are going to put a lot of green technology into this house.” Anyone interested in volunteering for the position can contact Barton at 250-494-5425.
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