This Saturday in College Hill, Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity and project partners Crossroads Community Church and Xavier University will begin construction on two homes – one of which will be a newly-designed green home.

The new build at is a green design by SHP Leading Design, winner of a statewide architecture contest sponsored last year by Cincinnati Habitat, the American Institute of Architects Ohio Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE), and other Ohio Habitat affiliates.

Entries were judged on cost, feasibility and neighborhood context, in addition to environmental concerns such as site impacts, water efficiency, energy use, material use, and indoor environmental quality. Designs are being made available to all 70 Habitat affiliates in Ohio.

Just down the street, a single-family home at 1189 Homeside Avenue will be rehabilitated with partner family Margaret Johnson and her two sons. Johnson, originally from Sierra Leone, lost her husband suddenly last year to a stroke.

"I want Cincinnati Habitat to know that providing a home for my children is a dream come true, and I wish their father was here to share this dream with us," said Johnson in a media release. "Ten years ago, we lived in tents in a refugee camp with little to no food or water. Buying this home is the opportunity of a life time for my family and will be the key to my sons' futures."

When completed, 1141 Homeside Avenue will become home to Felita Jordan and her two daughters.

Both families were required to meet a number of criteria and must invest at least 500 hours of sweat equity in their homes' construction. Upon completion, Cincinnati Habitat will sell the homes to the families for a 0 percent, 20-year interest-free mortgage.

"Thanks to the effort and support of some great groups and a very generous donor, two deserving families will be one step closer to home ownership this weekend," said Cincinnati Habitat Development Director Marissa Woodly. "We are also honored to receive one of the first affordable and environmentally sustainable house models from the AIA COTE design contest."

Crossroads volunteers have invested more than 15,000 hours into the construction and rehabilitation of homes with Cincinnati Habitat. Xavier University volunteers are embarking on their sixth build.

The project kicks off at 8 a.m. at 1141 Homeside Avenue.


Riders lend a hand

In other Cincinnati Habitat news, 25 volunteers from Bike & Build visited Avondale last weekend to help build homes for deserving families, part of the cyclists' cross-country service mission to raise awareness for quality affordable housing.

The three homes, under construction at , began construction in April. The Eastside Coalition of Churches and Ohio National Financial Services are partnering with Cincinnati Habitat and the partner families of Chala Lewis, Jane Huff, and Stephona Bowman.

Bike & Build volunteers have traveled across the country since 2003, contributing over $2 million to housing groups to fund projects planned and executed by young adults. The ultimate goal is to prepare young people for a lifetime of service and civic engagement.

"We are so thankful to this fantastic group of volunteers," Woodly said. "Bike & Build is a great organization that benefits housing projects throughout the country, and embodies Habitat's mission of eliminating substandard housing by building simple, decent, affordable homes to sell to deserving families in need, so we're a natural fit."

Rendering courtesy of SHP Leading Design. Photo courtesy of Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity.

Previous reading on BC:
Builders have two new sources for sustainable materials (3/22/10)
City's first ReStore to open in Bond Hill this spring (12/21/09)
Cincinnati on the hook for $352K in ineligible HOME expenditures (12/2/09)
Cincinnati considers ordinances for ADDI, Habitat (11/18/09)
Cincinnati Habitat begins two houses, dedicates another (4/8/09)