Habitat for Humanity held a groundbreaking on Lincoln Street in Kissimmee last week marking the first house to be built by the group in Osceola County. Despite having only the foundation poured, this year’s annual Home for the Holidays project is expected to be completed in time for a local family of five to move in before Christmas.
“This first home in Osceola County is truly the start of a legacy,” said Catherine McManus, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola Chapter. “It’s going to be one of three that we’re going to be building in the city of Kissimmee over the course of the next six months. So today is a momentous day.”
“Today we are marking two exciting milestones, breaking ground on Habitat for Orlando and Osceola’s first home here in Kissimmee, but also the first here in Osceola County.” said Pete Barr Jr, chairman of Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando and Osceola County. “It’s very exciting.” The home will be built by the Williams Company, a local general contractor for over 100 years and has partnered with Habitat for Humanity for the last five years.
“When I learned that Habitat wanted to build a house in Osceola County, we were in a board meeting, and I raised my hand,” said Chris Rollins, Williams Company President and a member of the board of the local Habitat for Humanity. “I didn’t talk to anybody in my company, but said, ‘We’re in. We want to do it.’ And the reason we want to do it is Osceola County has been a supporter of ours—we’ve worked here for over 75 years.”
“The challenge of affordable housing continues to escalate” Rollins observed. “The rising cost and limited availability of affordable housing makes it difficult for families to find secure homes. This partnership with Habitat is our response to this pressing need, an effort to give back to the community that has supported us for generations” “Osceola County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Florida,” said McManus. “There is a true need for affordable housing. In addition to new construction, we’ve been doing repairs, roof replacements, and offering our educational curriculum— Habitat University—free and open to anyone who resides or works in Osceola County. And on top of that we have housing counseling that any resident can participate in, working one on one with our housing counsellors to make sure they are as home ready as possible.”
Founded in 1986, Habitat Orlando and Osceola has built, rehabbed or repaired over 900 homes throughout Central Florida for homeowners that otherwise might not be able to afford home ownership.
“Gloria and Francisco (the two homeowners) have committed multiple hours of time doing their Habitat University coursework - really preparing for their estate, now that they own an asset,” explained McManus. “A home is typically the largest asset anyone owns in their time, so we want to make sure that they’re ready and prepared to pass that along to their three children when the time comes. And they’ve also done work on the job site, helping to build one of their neighbor’s homes. So, it’s truly a community.”
For more information, either to volunteer or to receive services from Habitat for Humanity, go to HabitatOrlando.org.
