Habitat For Humanity Builds 40 Homes in Woodstock Neighborhood

Last Saturday, Habitat North Central Georgia celebrated the completion of the last two homes built in the Villages of Park Creek neighborhood. The neighborhood is located in Woodstock on the border of North Fulton and Cherokee counties.

Back in 2008, the Villages of Park Creek neighborhood had been abandoned by the original builder and only 1/3 of the lots had been built on. The vacant land had become weed strewn and unsightly, and the existing homes, many of which had been turned to rentals, had been devalued well below their purchase price.

Habitat began building homes in 2009, completing about nine to twelve a year. At the ceremony of the completion of the 40 homes, Russ Hayes, Habitat North Central Georgia CEO, thanked all of the sponsors, volunteers and families who helped make the Park Creek project a success.

“The Villages at Park Creek represents a landmark project for Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia , the most homes we have ever built at a single location, with 40 homes at Park Creek topping a 29-unit townhouse project that we built out in Milton several years ago,” said Russ Hayes, Habitat North Central Georgia CEO. “The construction transformed an abandoned subdivision into a viable, active neighborhood and, while providing affordable housing to new Habitat homeowners, actually increased the value of the existing homes in the subdivision. Habitat-NCG does not give away homes. Our homeowners purchase their homes at or near their appraised value, and the values have increased steadily as we have built out the neighborhood beginning in 2009. Our homes are affordable because we offer no-interest financing, but this does not impact the value of neighboring homes. We were blessed to have the support of so many house sponsors and volunteers in building out this community and thank, too, the 40 homeowner families who persevered through difficult times and a rigorous selection process to become Habitat partner families. They are hard-working, wage-earning families who needed "a hand-up, not a hand-out." With a rough average of hard construction costs of $80,000 to $90,000 per home, the construction of the 40 homes at Park Creek brought in an investment of $3.2 million to $3.6 million into Cherokee County, and our homeowners are now paying property taxes like any other homeowner in the County.”

Villages of Park Creek homeowner, Tadesse Phares, spoke at the ceremony about his experience living in the neighborhood. “Habitat has made a big impact on our lives, not simply by building houses, but by building a community,” said Mr. Phares. “Habitat treats everyone equally and with dignity and respect. The blessing of living in an affordable home allows us to save money and pass our home on from one generation to the next. “

The celebration included the two partner families whose homes were completed last Saturday. Habitat partnered with Si Zo Va and Lian Thuami on the first home. Si and Lian are originally from Myanmar and have two young children, ages 7 and 10.

The family left their home country in 2010 to escape the oppression and exploitation they were experiencing and traveled to Malaysia where they remained for two years as refugees. With the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the family was able to come to the United States. Mr. Va has worked at Tyson Foods for the last five years.

The second home was built for Alhassan Dauda and his wife, Sakina Salifu. The couple has four young children ranging in age from 1 to 9 years old. The family emigrated from Ghana in 2013 with the assistance of the Diversity Visa Program which allows for entry to the United States from countries around the world with historically low immigration rates.

Both Mr. Dauda and Mrs. Salifu are employed by Publix Supermarkets and they work opposite shifts so one parent is always with the children.

Habitat was able to build these two homes due to the generosity of four corporate sponsors; Enercon Services, Inc., Schneider Electric, Travelers Insurance and the UPS Foundation. All four companies have supported Habitat for many years and have provided both the funding and volunteer labor to build the homes.

Schneider Electric is also recognized as a Habitat for Humanity National Sponsor providing both cash and electrical equipment to Habitat affiliates all over the United States since 2000. The UPS Foundation has supported Habitat North Central Georgia for almost ten years making a significant contribution towards the organizations efforts to provide affordable housing.

Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia is a non-profit, Christian housing ministry that builds affordable homes for purchase by low-income families who demonstrate the capacity for responsible homeownership. Since its inception in 1995, Habitat-NCG has completed 287 homes serving an estimated 1,000 family members in the North Fulton area and Cherokee, Dawson and Forsyth Counties. Habitat-NCG does not give away its homes. Partner families, who earn 30% to 60% of the Atlanta area median income, purchase their homes at or near appraised value utilizing 30-year no-interest financing provided by Habitat. In addition, each partner family is required to attend educational classes and perform 200-300 hours of construction “sweat equity.” Family members work side by side with the volunteers, sponsors, and Habitat staff to build their homes. Habitat-NCG’s slogan is “A Hand Up, Not a Handout.” For more information concerning Habitat for Humanity-North Central Georgia, please visit www.habitat-ncg.org.

Pictures Courtesy of Studio 660 Photography, John Humphreys.