Habitat breaks ground in Redstone
14 families to get affordable housing
Fourteen families have a new opportunity for affordable home ownership in a community in northeast Calgary. Shovels turned in seven duplexes as part of a new Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta project in Redstone recently.
These duplexes will be about 1,030 square feet and first possessions are expected for this summer.
“We are excited to begin construction on our new development in Redstone”, says Leslie Tamagi, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta,
“It’s about building futures, not just building a house.”
These homes are sold to the families with no down payment and have affordable, nointerest mortgages. Monthly payments by the homeowners go into a revolving fund that Habitat for Humanity uses to build other projects. To qualify, each family must contribute 500 hours of volunteer work toward constructing their home.
Redstone is located off Metis Trail and is masterplanned by Qualico, which is a major sponsor for the Habitat build. In fact, the company has committed $550,000 over the next five years to Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta projects. Habitat completed a duplex development in another Qualico commu- nity, Evanston, last year.
“Every chance we can present to Habitat for lots, we will,” says Linda Rutledge, Qualico’s director of business development.
“Because we believe in diverse communities and giving back to communities, we found that was the best way to actually provide home ownership for people so they could break that cycle of poverty and become involved in the communities and a better future for the kids.
“We thought that was really valuable.”
The homes will be built to Built Green Canada platinum standards. Built Green is a third-party national certification program has offered builders a rating based on the construction methods and materials used in homes.
“We build out homes very energy efficient,” says Tamagi. “Every dollar a families saves on utilities or gas they can invest in their children and their children’s futures.”
Three students from John G. Diefenbaker High School will help with the construction of these duplexes as part of a new program called Youth Building for a Better Tomorrow. The students will spend 75 hours helping with Habitat for Humanity projects, which will help them earn an academic accreditation.
Partnering with Habitat for Humanity with this program are the Professional Home Builders Institute, the Calgary Board of Education and Brookfield Residential.
For Brookfield’s part, students will visit the builder’s construction sites and its head office for a closer look at careers related to the home building industry.
“This is a tremendous industry, there’s the full gamut of things people can do in this industry,” says Kurt Gibson, general manager of Brookfield Residential’s singlefamily home division.
“I think a lot of people want to build with their hands. Not everyone wants to sit behind a desk, so we want to give people the option to see what the differences are.”
For more information on Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta, visit habitatsouthernab.ca