Groundbreaking is set for Tuesday at 10 a.m. on Habitat for Humanity’s housing complex at 560 8th St. in Castlegar to provide affordable home ownership to four families.
Southeast BC executive director Elaine Pura says they have been working for a couple of years with the City of Castlegar and funders to get to this stage.
The complex will have two three-bedroom and two two-bedroom units. The families who will live there are expected to take ownership within about a year, although they have not been chosen yet.
An application process will open in May. Pura says the three main qualifications for families are a willingness to partner, willingness and ability to pay a mortgage tied to their income, and willingness to put in 500 volunteer hours before taking ownership.
That could be helping to build the home, or working in one of their ReStores, including the one in Castlegar, which accept donations of used appliances, furniture, home decor, and building materials for resale to support Habitat’s projects.
This will be Habitat’s second build in Castlegar, and its 19th in the Kootenay-Boundary. It has 12 homes in Grand Forks, three in Nelson, and one each in Cranbrook and Greenwood.
Habitat for Humanity representatives, City of Castlegar officials and special guests are expected to be part of Tuesday’s groundbreaking.
“This is a really exciting celebration for us to get going on this project after so long,” Pura says.
She adds there are some common misconceptions about Habitat homes. They are neither free nor affordable rentals. Although families put in volunteer time to build them or otherwise support Habitat’s efforts, they purchase the homes at fair market value.
“We do provide this opportunity for low-to-moderate income families to access the home ownership market,” Pura says. “But it’s not that we’re giving these homes away.”
She says they are still seeking support from individuals and corporations, in donations of cash, building materials, and volunteer time.
“People can actually volunteer on the build,” Pura says. “We organize it in a safe way and supervise members of the community as well as the families to come and build these homes.”
She says they also need volunteers for their ReStores in Castlegar and Grand Forks. COVID limited the number of people they could take on, but as things reopen they are trying to rebuild their volunteer base.
To donate or apply to become a volunteer you can call 250-777-8677 or go to their website.