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CPA Final Report Glendale Rd (lots 2, 3 & 4).pdf www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 August 9, 2019 City of Northampton CPC c/o Sarah LaValley 210 Main Street, City Hall Northampton, MA 01060 RE: CPA Grant for 3 Affordable Homes on Glendale Rd Dear CPC, We are excited to report that construction is going well on the three homes we are building at 125, 129 and 133 Glendale Rd (lots 2, 3 & 4). The modular homes placed on lots 3 & 4 are nearly complete and we are planning a dedication ceremony for Sunday September 22nd for these two homes. An email invitation will be sent to Sarah LaValley once details are finalized – you are all invited! On lot #2 we chose not to install a modular home, but build from the ground up. This was primarily due to increased costs for the modular, but allowed us the interesting opportunity to create a “control” for our modular experiment. After the completion of the house on lot #2 we will be able to compare what the pros/cons of building a nearly identical home was from scratch vs. with the assistance of the factory. Both homes will have HERS ratings and blower door tests as well. Construction on lot #2 is progressing well and we plan to have a roof on before winter and continue with inside work over the 2019-2020 winter for a spring 2020 completion. Volunteers still welcome. This fall you will also see an application from us for funding for lot #1 where we plan to build a small, near zero net energy 2 bedroom home. The site work for this house will begin in the fall, then the project will be put on hold until spring time when we will begin framing. CPA funding has been instrumental to this project. The support of the city has enabled us to partner with hundreds of volunteers and three very excited homeowners. We have stretched on this project to explore innovative new options for home building that prioritize energy efficiency and explore a merger of on site and factory construction. We would not have been able to do so without the CPA funding. Attached to this letter you will find pictures from the job site and stories of some of the future homeowners you have helped fund the dream of homeownership for. In gratitude, Megan McDonough, Executive Director www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 Volunteers from People’s Bank in front of the lot #3 home July 2019 Future homeowner Bonnie works in her home on lot #2 with volunteer – July 2019 www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 Future Homeowner Fenessa cuts wood for her neighbor’s house on lot #2 – July 2019 www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 Future homeowner Ruth on site www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 Volunteers frame wall on lot #2 – July 2019 Framing nearly complete on lot #2 – July 2019 www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 PV Squared on site at lot #4 with view of shed built by Smith Vocational High School – June 2019 Homes get sided on lots 4 & 3. Lot 2 framing under way. May 2019 www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 The modular homes on lots 3 & 4 June 2019 www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 Bonnie’s and Miguel’s story Years ago, as a Hampshire student, Miguel heard about the work of Pioneer Valley Habitat. At that time, needing assistance to own a home of his own was far from his mind as he prepared for his future work in the film industry. After a lot of hard work and some years of making a life for himself, a serious chronic illness that reared its ugly head ten years ago changed everything for Miguel who by then had married his soulmate, Bonnie. They found themselves in a place of quiet desperation at the hands of a wasting illness that left Miguel unable to work much less do anything sometimes for days on end. In the beginning, when “the wheels came off,” Bonnie and Miguel were forced to move again and again, looking for places to live inexpensively with their two young children. Sometimes that place was with a generous member of the local Earth Dance community until they could find somewhere else, and it was that same community that provided emotional support and hosted fundraisers to help Miguel and Bonnie. In recent years College Church has been a tremendous source of support. “None of this was what we had envisioned for our life as a young couple,” Bonnie says. “It was a nightmare.” Once their youngest child turned three, Bonnie was able to return to work. While this created more stability for them, there was still the uncertainty of Miguel’s health, a lack of diagnosis and prognosis. To this day, there are more questions than answers for Bonnie and Miguel, and every day they do what they can to manage his health concerns while Bonnie works and they raise their two children. Two years ago, Miguel had a conversation with Pioneer Valley Habitat executive director Megan McDonough about Habitat’s homeownership opportunities, but it wasn’t until a year later that Bonnie saw a flyer for a Habitat homeowner application process opening for a home on Glendale Rd in Northampton that would be right sized for their family. She and Miguel scrambled to assemble the necessary documentation but they couldn't bring themselves to tell anybody that they had even applied to Habitat for a house. Other opportunities for homes had fallen through over the previous year or so and Bonnie and Miguel didn't want to get their families’ and friends’ hopes up, not to mention their own, until they had been officially selected. That was one of the hardest secrets to keep, especially as they continued to progress through the acceptance process into the lottery. When they did win the lottery, all joy broke loose!! Bonnie remembers calling their families...they were utterly shocked, surprised and ecstatic. “This was the first light in a long time.” Bonnie says. “Literally, we won the lottery – the Megabucks Lottery was going on at the same time and when we heard our news we said it was way better!” Different people might have given up. Bonnie and Miguel, though, continue to move forward in life with determination, resilience, and faith. “I believe in miracles,” Miguel says. Bonnie adds, “I’m still basking in the fact that this is the best thing that has ever happened to me...besides meeting Miguel and having my kids.” www.pvhabitat.org ~ PO Box 60642 Florence, MA 01062 ~ 413-586-5430 “You can always find answers.” Ruth’s Story “The run is done, we don’t have to run anymore.” This was the first thing Ruth said when asked how it felt to have been selected as the head of household who would spend the next year or so building her own home and then assuming an affordable mortgage to pay for it. As for her children, Ruth describes how they are dreaming about their house, about a treehouse, “they have so many dreams...” Since 2014, when Ruth emigrated to the U.S. from Honduras as the wife of an American and mother of two, her life was characterized by unexpected hardship and instability. Far from her family and support system, when Ruth’s domestic life was upended she found herself adrift with two young daughters, moving through a series of shelters and temporary living situations in the Boston area before it became clear that there were few opportunities for them there. Once settled in a shelter apartment in western Mass, Ruth secured regular work in the food service industry and begin to take college classes. It is no surprise that she is studying mathematics because, as she puts it, math “is a way to find answers, you can always find answers.” Finding the answers she needs to forge a life of stability and self-reliance for herself and her children is a hallmark of this remarkable and resilient young woman. Ruth’s future home arrived on a flatbed truck in two pieces, built in a factory in Vermont. Her home and a second home next to it represent Pioneer Valley Habitat’s first foray into modular homebuilding, an innovation supported by a grant from the Community Foundation of Western Mass. Ruth is helping Pioneer Valley Habitat pilot a novel approach to constructing affordable houses to see whether it is a model suitable for further adaptation within Habitat’s volunteer-driven construction arena. Her house has also been dubbed “The House That Faith Built,” a reference to a coordinated effort by the local interfaith community to raise funds for the construction of her home and for the many volunteer hours contributed by members of local congregations. Building her own home has been a great experience for Ruth who describes her Habitat experience in this way: “Things don’t come for free, you have to work for them. Owning something makes you feel better about yourself. I want to learn everything related to my home. I want to be able to do things without turning to someone for help.”