Willow Street Habitat for Humanity Project on Schedule

The soon-to-be-homeowners of 37 Willow St., a Habitat for Humanity duplex that has been under construction since March 2009, should be settling into their new home just in time to prepare their Thanksgiving table.

The project is slated to be complete in October, and closing should take place in mid-November, said Morris Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Blair Bravo.

This project is Morris Habitat's fifth collaboration with the Morris County Affordable Housing Corporation. The land on which the duplex is currently being built was sold to the corporation for $200,000, Bravo said.

At the time of acquisition, the property held a deteriorating single-family home that was beyond repair, Bravo said. Construction began after knocking down the existing structure and proper approval from the town was granted.

Even after a certificate of occupancy is issued, Bravo said, Habitat will likely be visiting the duplex and making sure all of the landscaping needs and other minute aesthetic details are in order. 

The external building is nearly finished. Work crews are now staging the construction of the interior. Both units will consist of three bedrooms and one and three-fourth bathrooms. They both will be in accordance to the Council on Affordable Housing's (COAH) guidelines. They will also be handicap-accessible, Bravo said.

The average income for a family of four in Morristown is $85,000, Bravo said. Families who fit the criteria for Habitat projects typically make about 60 percent of that sum, and pay no more than 30 percent of their income on the mortgage, she added.

Bravo said the homes would cost approximately $150,000 each to construct. Grants, sponsors and volunteer manpower offset most of the cost for the duplex.

Each side of the duplex is built in accordance to Energy Star efficiency, Bravo added, and the construction volunteers make an extra-concerted effort by recycling on-site. 

There isn't any set amount of money each family will end up putting down on the homes. Instead, Bravo said, cost would be based on a sliding scale of how much each family earns. The Morris Habitat will hold the zero-interest mortgage loans.

One unit of the duplex will be sold to Toshiba Foster, a benefits administrator with two daughters, 16 and 2 years old. The other side has been earmarked for Alexandra Rodriguez, an administrative assistant with a 13-year-old son, 11-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter.

Both Foster and Rodriguez were selected by the Morris County Housing Authority's rental assistance program.

Pat Bomus, the Morris Habitat Director of Community Relations, said that seeing the two families move into their own spaces will be a a real "win-win."

The process, she said, really gives the two families a hand in actively grasping their goals and that it shows "the American dream of home ownership really is within reach."

Bomus added that both Rodriguez and Foster are actively out on site on Saturdays lifting, getting their hands dirty and participating in making their dream a four-walled-reality.

Sponsors making this project possible include Weichert Financial Services, The Joan Dalianis Foundation, and the St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church. For more information on volunteering, visit  www.morrishabitat.org.