As the economy flounders, plenty of demand still exists for at least one segment of the housing market: nonprofit organizations that rehabilitate homes or build new shelters for people in need. For proof, look no further than the most recent list of 100 biggest U.S. homebuilders from Builder Magazine, a publication of the National Association of Home Builders. International Habitat for Humanity, which caters to some of the lowest-income buyers, moved to No. 14 on the 2007 list, up from No. 16 a year earlier.
The list, released last week, showed that Habitat closed on 5,619 homes in 2007, down a modest 3 percent from the previous year.By contrast, closings for the top four builders were down 29, 33, 18 and 34 percent.Locally, organizations like Rebuilding Together Twin Cities and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity are busy recruiting volunteer laborers and donations for projects that will benefit anyone from single moms to returning war veterans.Sharon Rolenc, a spokeswoman for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, said the current economy and the housing crisis “really underscore more than ever the need for affordable housing. Not just for the sector we support, but across the board.”One way to measure demand is to look at orientation sessions for prospective Habitat homebuyers.Through the first part of May, overall attendance at orientation sessions in the Twin Cities this year comes in at 623, which is exactly equal the attendance for all of 2007, Rolenc said.Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is building in more parts of the metro area than it has in the past and is casting a wider net for orientation sessions, so that may be a contributing factor to the higher numbers.Still, the orientation numbers are “telling,” Rolenc said.Susan Haigh, president of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, said in a press release that the need for affordable housing is still greater than the supply.“Homeownership rates are declining, fragile neighborhoods are decimated by boarded and vacant homes, and job losses are real, particularly for the working poor,” Haigh said. “I can’t think of a time in recent history where the need for safe, decent and affordable homes has ever been more acute.”The needs extend to existing homes.Kathy Greiner, executive director of Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, which taps into volunteer labor and donations to fix up homes for people in need, said there’s increasing demand for her organization’s services.As food and gas get more expensive, low-income homeowners’ budgets are stretched to the limit. They’re falling behind on needed home repairs and the repairs are becoming increasingly expensive, Greiner said.Rebuilding Together relies on corporate sponsors to donate cash, materials and volunteer crews for its projects. Roughly 80 percent of the work crews come from local businesses, often as part of an effort to “give back” to the community, Greiner said.Donors include Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Co. and Honeywell Corp.Allianz has worked with Rebuild for three or four years and tries to recruit 30 or 40 employees to help out with specific projects, said Laura Juergens, the company’s senior charitable giving specialist.Employees can take eight hours of paid time off a year to volunteer.“Rebuilding helps people remain in their homes and remain self-sufficient,” Juergens said. “It seemed like a natural fit for what we give our money toward and what we volunteer for. ... It’s something I am sure we are going to continue for quite a while.”Julie Franklin, a vice president of communications for Honeywell, said working with Rebuild “really made sense to us from a standpoint of working to improve the living conditions of those in need” and helping a community organization that has made “a big difference.”Rebuilding Together Twin Cities is part of the national Rebuilding Together organization, which rehabs and repairs more than 9,000 homes each year, representing $100 million worth of projects.Ironically, builders who cater to the other end of the housing spectrum are still doing reasonably well. In June, 17 local builders will showcase $1 million-plus homes in the Twin Cities Luxury Homes Tour.There’s also the annual Builders Association of the Twin Cities event that makes a connection between the divergent market segments.Each BATC Parade of Homes event features a “Dream Home” that’s open to the public for a $5 donation. Proceeds benefit the association’s Builders Outreach Foundation, which provides housing for low-income buyers.Wendy Danks, BATC’s marketing director, said the Builders Outreach Foundation has built 13 or 14 affordable homes in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood in recent years.The nonprofit foundation also completed a home rehabilitation for a wounded Iraq war vet this spring, and partnered with Minneapolis-based nonprofit Project for Pride in Living on a low-income housing project in Minneapolis.BATC members have been generous in their donations of labor, money and materials for those efforts, even as they have to devote more time to their own business during a challenging housing economy, Danks said.“We don’t build at the level of Habitat by any means,” Danks said. “But we are trying to meet the needs of the community when we can and how we can.”
By Brian JohnsonFinance and CommerceMay 16, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
In Trying Times, Non Profit Housing Providers Stay Busy
As the economy flounders, plenty of demand still exists for at least one segment of the housing market: nonprofit organizations that rehabilitate homes or build new shelters for people in need. For proof, look no further than the most recent list of 100 biggest U.S. homebuilders from Builder Magazine, a publication of the National Association of Home Builders. International Habitat for Humanity, which caters to some of the lowest-income buyers, moved to No. 14 on the 2007 list, up from No. 16 a year earlier.
The list, released last week, showed that Habitat closed on 5,619 homes in 2007, down a modest 3 percent from the previous year.By contrast, closings for the top four builders were down 29, 33, 18 and 34 percent.Locally, organizations like Rebuilding Together Twin Cities and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity are busy recruiting volunteer laborers and donations for projects that will benefit anyone from single moms to returning war veterans.Sharon Rolenc, a spokeswoman for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, said the current economy and the housing crisis “really underscore more than ever the need for affordable housing. Not just for the sector we support, but across the board.”One way to measure demand is to look at orientation sessions for prospective Habitat homebuyers.Through the first part of May, overall attendance at orientation sessions in the Twin Cities this year comes in at 623, which is exactly equal the attendance for all of 2007, Rolenc said.Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is building in more parts of the metro area than it has in the past and is casting a wider net for orientation sessions, so that may be a contributing factor to the higher numbers.Still, the orientation numbers are “telling,” Rolenc said.Susan Haigh, president of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, said in a press release that the need for affordable housing is still greater than the supply.“Homeownership rates are declining, fragile neighborhoods are decimated by boarded and vacant homes, and job losses are real, particularly for the working poor,” Haigh said. “I can’t think of a time in recent history where the need for safe, decent and affordable homes has ever been more acute.”The needs extend to existing homes.Kathy Greiner, executive director of Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, which taps into volunteer labor and donations to fix up homes for people in need, said there’s increasing demand for her organization’s services.As food and gas get more expensive, low-income homeowners’ budgets are stretched to the limit. They’re falling behind on needed home repairs and the repairs are becoming increasingly expensive, Greiner said.Rebuilding Together relies on corporate sponsors to donate cash, materials and volunteer crews for its projects. Roughly 80 percent of the work crews come from local businesses, often as part of an effort to “give back” to the community, Greiner said.Donors include Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Co. and Honeywell Corp.Allianz has worked with Rebuild for three or four years and tries to recruit 30 or 40 employees to help out with specific projects, said Laura Juergens, the company’s senior charitable giving specialist.Employees can take eight hours of paid time off a year to volunteer.“Rebuilding helps people remain in their homes and remain self-sufficient,” Juergens said. “It seemed like a natural fit for what we give our money toward and what we volunteer for. ... It’s something I am sure we are going to continue for quite a while.”Julie Franklin, a vice president of communications for Honeywell, said working with Rebuild “really made sense to us from a standpoint of working to improve the living conditions of those in need” and helping a community organization that has made “a big difference.”Rebuilding Together Twin Cities is part of the national Rebuilding Together organization, which rehabs and repairs more than 9,000 homes each year, representing $100 million worth of projects.Ironically, builders who cater to the other end of the housing spectrum are still doing reasonably well. In June, 17 local builders will showcase $1 million-plus homes in the Twin Cities Luxury Homes Tour.There’s also the annual Builders Association of the Twin Cities event that makes a connection between the divergent market segments.Each BATC Parade of Homes event features a “Dream Home” that’s open to the public for a $5 donation. Proceeds benefit the association’s Builders Outreach Foundation, which provides housing for low-income buyers.Wendy Danks, BATC’s marketing director, said the Builders Outreach Foundation has built 13 or 14 affordable homes in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood in recent years.The nonprofit foundation also completed a home rehabilitation for a wounded Iraq war vet this spring, and partnered with Minneapolis-based nonprofit Project for Pride in Living on a low-income housing project in Minneapolis.BATC members have been generous in their donations of labor, money and materials for those efforts, even as they have to devote more time to their own business during a challenging housing economy, Danks said.“We don’t build at the level of Habitat by any means,” Danks said. “But we are trying to meet the needs of the community when we can and how we can.”
By Brian JohnsonFinance and CommerceMay 16, 2008
The list, released last week, showed that Habitat closed on 5,619 homes in 2007, down a modest 3 percent from the previous year.By contrast, closings for the top four builders were down 29, 33, 18 and 34 percent.Locally, organizations like Rebuilding Together Twin Cities and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity are busy recruiting volunteer laborers and donations for projects that will benefit anyone from single moms to returning war veterans.Sharon Rolenc, a spokeswoman for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, said the current economy and the housing crisis “really underscore more than ever the need for affordable housing. Not just for the sector we support, but across the board.”One way to measure demand is to look at orientation sessions for prospective Habitat homebuyers.Through the first part of May, overall attendance at orientation sessions in the Twin Cities this year comes in at 623, which is exactly equal the attendance for all of 2007, Rolenc said.Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is building in more parts of the metro area than it has in the past and is casting a wider net for orientation sessions, so that may be a contributing factor to the higher numbers.Still, the orientation numbers are “telling,” Rolenc said.Susan Haigh, president of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, said in a press release that the need for affordable housing is still greater than the supply.“Homeownership rates are declining, fragile neighborhoods are decimated by boarded and vacant homes, and job losses are real, particularly for the working poor,” Haigh said. “I can’t think of a time in recent history where the need for safe, decent and affordable homes has ever been more acute.”The needs extend to existing homes.Kathy Greiner, executive director of Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, which taps into volunteer labor and donations to fix up homes for people in need, said there’s increasing demand for her organization’s services.As food and gas get more expensive, low-income homeowners’ budgets are stretched to the limit. They’re falling behind on needed home repairs and the repairs are becoming increasingly expensive, Greiner said.Rebuilding Together relies on corporate sponsors to donate cash, materials and volunteer crews for its projects. Roughly 80 percent of the work crews come from local businesses, often as part of an effort to “give back” to the community, Greiner said.Donors include Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Co. and Honeywell Corp.Allianz has worked with Rebuild for three or four years and tries to recruit 30 or 40 employees to help out with specific projects, said Laura Juergens, the company’s senior charitable giving specialist.Employees can take eight hours of paid time off a year to volunteer.“Rebuilding helps people remain in their homes and remain self-sufficient,” Juergens said. “It seemed like a natural fit for what we give our money toward and what we volunteer for. ... It’s something I am sure we are going to continue for quite a while.”Julie Franklin, a vice president of communications for Honeywell, said working with Rebuild “really made sense to us from a standpoint of working to improve the living conditions of those in need” and helping a community organization that has made “a big difference.”Rebuilding Together Twin Cities is part of the national Rebuilding Together organization, which rehabs and repairs more than 9,000 homes each year, representing $100 million worth of projects.Ironically, builders who cater to the other end of the housing spectrum are still doing reasonably well. In June, 17 local builders will showcase $1 million-plus homes in the Twin Cities Luxury Homes Tour.There’s also the annual Builders Association of the Twin Cities event that makes a connection between the divergent market segments.Each BATC Parade of Homes event features a “Dream Home” that’s open to the public for a $5 donation. Proceeds benefit the association’s Builders Outreach Foundation, which provides housing for low-income buyers.Wendy Danks, BATC’s marketing director, said the Builders Outreach Foundation has built 13 or 14 affordable homes in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood in recent years.The nonprofit foundation also completed a home rehabilitation for a wounded Iraq war vet this spring, and partnered with Minneapolis-based nonprofit Project for Pride in Living on a low-income housing project in Minneapolis.BATC members have been generous in their donations of labor, money and materials for those efforts, even as they have to devote more time to their own business during a challenging housing economy, Danks said.“We don’t build at the level of Habitat by any means,” Danks said. “But we are trying to meet the needs of the community when we can and how we can.”
By Brian JohnsonFinance and CommerceMay 16, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
A little Savage press
Groundbreaking for 'Habitat' home
May 5, 2008 - 11:21am
Mohamed Duale speaks to a group that gathered Monday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking of a Habitat for Humanity Home on Hampshire Avenue in south Savage. Duale and his wife, Queen Hanshi, and their children Hamsa, Hassan, Hosni, Hudefa and Abdirahim have been selected to move into the home when it is finished later this year. Site work is expected to get under way this week. (Staff photo by Nancy Huddleston)
May 5, 2008 - 11:21am
Mohamed Duale speaks to a group that gathered Monday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking of a Habitat for Humanity Home on Hampshire Avenue in south Savage. Duale and his wife, Queen Hanshi, and their children Hamsa, Hassan, Hosni, Hudefa and Abdirahim have been selected to move into the home when it is finished later this year. Site work is expected to get under way this week. (Staff photo by Nancy Huddleston)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Track Hoe Heaven
Two track hoes were digging the big hole today. It took about 30 dump loads, but it is done. The filling begins tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Finally!!!
After chasing wild geese to Savage for the last 2 days, tomorrow is finally the day. I am told that the excavators will be on site tomorrow to dig a really big (about 38'x20'x17' over 400 cu yds of dirt) hole. Then they will fill it back up! It looks like we will be pouring footings next Tuesday and will have an STS crew in to do the foundation. side note: STS is a great organization that provides prisoners with job training in the construction field as well as job placement help when they are finished with their sentance. They do a lot with TCHFH. So we should still be good for the first week of June and volunteers.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tuesday, excavation
This is what the excavation looks like right before we decided that there are problems with the dirt. As you can see there are two kinds of soil. The light brown clay is good, the dark brown top soil is bad. We will be on hold until we can correct the problem. Bummer. This means more punch list.
Groundbreaking at the Savage Site
What an exciting morning, representatives from TCHFH, Thrivent, and many of the churches involved came down for the official groundbreaking ceremony.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
It's Time
Welcome to my new site in Savage. We'll be here for the next several months. This will be a single family house with a detached garage. The primary sponsor is Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. There will be a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, then we get rolling. I am looking forward to my first solo build. I'll put up some pics from Monday as well as information on the family, next week.
A Break from Woodbury
A couple of weeks ago I got to spend a Saturday in Ramsey, framing another 8 plex. What a great bunch of volunteers. What a great break from touch up paint.
Some love from MPR
The head of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity says her organization is responding to the foreclosure crisis by rehabbing existing buildings rather than focusing solely on new construction.
President Sue Haigh said the nonprofit is partnering with the city of St. Paul to acquire about a half a dozen buildings on the city's East Side.
"If they are in good enough shape to be rehabbed, we will rehab them to resell to Habitat homeowners. Or if they're in really poor condition, we will tear them down and begin again. As we have been going out looking at the properties, they are a mixture of both," Haigh said.
But Habitat for Humanity is still in the business of developing new homes. The group will celebrate a "wall-raising" today for seven Dale Street townhouses to be built in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. Habitat completed five such units for low income families on Dale Street last year.
It's a busy week for volunteer home building efforts in St. Paul. A separate Twin Cities group called Rebuilding Together is working with the HGTV network on three revitalization projects on the East Side, including the restoration of a private Victorian home in Dayton's Bluff.
President Sue Haigh said the nonprofit is partnering with the city of St. Paul to acquire about a half a dozen buildings on the city's East Side.
"If they are in good enough shape to be rehabbed, we will rehab them to resell to Habitat homeowners. Or if they're in really poor condition, we will tear them down and begin again. As we have been going out looking at the properties, they are a mixture of both," Haigh said.
But Habitat for Humanity is still in the business of developing new homes. The group will celebrate a "wall-raising" today for seven Dale Street townhouses to be built in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. Habitat completed five such units for low income families on Dale Street last year.
It's a busy week for volunteer home building efforts in St. Paul. A separate Twin Cities group called Rebuilding Together is working with the HGTV network on three revitalization projects on the East Side, including the restoration of a private Victorian home in Dayton's Bluff.
More News
Habitat International CEO Jonathan Reckford Joins Business Leaders, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and new homeowners
(MINNEAPOLIS - April 28, 2008) - Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, a trusted nonprofit community developer with a long history of success in delivering affordable homeownership, is bringing hope, help and opportunity to foreclosure-ravaged neighborhoods like Frogtown in St. Paul, Minn., with seven new affordable townhomes on Dale Street.
Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford will join St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, business leaders, Twin Cities Habitat President Sue Haigh and new homeowners on Tuesday, April 29, at noon at 644-656 Dale Street in St. Paul for a ceremonial wall raising of the townhomes.
"Homeownership rates are declining, fragile neighborhoods are decimated by boarded and vacant homes, and job losses are real, particularly for the working poor. I can't think of a time in recent history where the need for safe, decent and affordable homes has ever been more acute," said Susan Haigh, president of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH).
Haigh said that the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation asked Habitat to purchase land it owned and build the homes. Despite the mortgage foreclosure crisis, Haigh said the need for affordable housing is still greater than the supply.
"The vast need for decent, affordable housing across the U.S. and around the world requires a collaborative response on many different levels, from both the public and the private sectors. And one of the beauties about Habitat for Humanity is that there's room for everyone at the table. Everyone is needed and everyone can play a vital role in the solution Habitat is helping build the world over," Reckford said.
The Dale Street townhomes reflect the trend of Habitat for Humanity's work in urban areas where scarce available land means building multi-unit homes. Building townhomes results in more complicated projects and designs, requiring multiple partners to get the job done.
"Like many cities across the country, the Twin Cities is being called upon to think and work differently when it comes to affordable housing," said Gerald Stenson, executive vice president of Wells Fargo, and vice chair of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's board of directors. "Through corporate and community partnerships, we can do more than build homes; we can transform neighborhoods. The Dale Street project is a prime example of how our collaborative efforts can pave the way for revitalization, reinvestment and rebuilding in our communities."
Lead sponsors for the Dale Street project include Thrivent Builds and Wells Fargo. Key community partners include AmeriCorps, the City of St. Paul, Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation, Minnesota Housing, and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (S.H.O.P.).
This is the third year of Twin Cities Habitat's involvement with Thrivent Builds, a $125 million, four-year alliance between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International. Thrivent Builds will sponsor eight homes this year through the Twin Cities affiliate.
"Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is real proof that two unique organizations can multiply their impact when they come together to improve communities," said Jeff Hahn, senior director of the Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity alliance. "We're making a difference house by house and family by family--and the impact grows community by community."
This year, Wells Fargo is lead sponsor for nine TCHFH homes - four at Dale Street, four in the City of Ramsey and the 2008 WomenBuild home in St. Paul.
In addition to Habitat's homeownership program, it also will rehabilitate Frogtown area homes through its "A Brush With Kindness" program which is a neighborhood outreach service offering painting, landscaping and repair to homes for existing low-income homeowners. Wells Fargo is sponsoring five homes through "A Brush With Kindness."
About Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
The mission of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is to eliminate poverty housing from the Twin Cities and to make decent, affordable shelter for all people a matter of conscience. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity builds community, helping people to be successful homeowners, because homes and families are the foundation of successful communities. The organization achieves this by: building simple, decent and affordable homes, and selling them with zero percent interest mortgages; helping low-income homeowners repair and maintain their homes; and offering Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention counseling. For more info, visit
(MINNEAPOLIS - April 28, 2008) - Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, a trusted nonprofit community developer with a long history of success in delivering affordable homeownership, is bringing hope, help and opportunity to foreclosure-ravaged neighborhoods like Frogtown in St. Paul, Minn., with seven new affordable townhomes on Dale Street.
Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford will join St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, business leaders, Twin Cities Habitat President Sue Haigh and new homeowners on Tuesday, April 29, at noon at 644-656 Dale Street in St. Paul for a ceremonial wall raising of the townhomes.
"Homeownership rates are declining, fragile neighborhoods are decimated by boarded and vacant homes, and job losses are real, particularly for the working poor. I can't think of a time in recent history where the need for safe, decent and affordable homes has ever been more acute," said Susan Haigh, president of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH).
Haigh said that the Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation asked Habitat to purchase land it owned and build the homes. Despite the mortgage foreclosure crisis, Haigh said the need for affordable housing is still greater than the supply.
"The vast need for decent, affordable housing across the U.S. and around the world requires a collaborative response on many different levels, from both the public and the private sectors. And one of the beauties about Habitat for Humanity is that there's room for everyone at the table. Everyone is needed and everyone can play a vital role in the solution Habitat is helping build the world over," Reckford said.
The Dale Street townhomes reflect the trend of Habitat for Humanity's work in urban areas where scarce available land means building multi-unit homes. Building townhomes results in more complicated projects and designs, requiring multiple partners to get the job done.
"Like many cities across the country, the Twin Cities is being called upon to think and work differently when it comes to affordable housing," said Gerald Stenson, executive vice president of Wells Fargo, and vice chair of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's board of directors. "Through corporate and community partnerships, we can do more than build homes; we can transform neighborhoods. The Dale Street project is a prime example of how our collaborative efforts can pave the way for revitalization, reinvestment and rebuilding in our communities."
Lead sponsors for the Dale Street project include Thrivent Builds and Wells Fargo. Key community partners include AmeriCorps, the City of St. Paul, Greater Frogtown Community Development Corporation, Minnesota Housing, and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (S.H.O.P.).
This is the third year of Twin Cities Habitat's involvement with Thrivent Builds, a $125 million, four-year alliance between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International. Thrivent Builds will sponsor eight homes this year through the Twin Cities affiliate.
"Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is real proof that two unique organizations can multiply their impact when they come together to improve communities," said Jeff Hahn, senior director of the Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity alliance. "We're making a difference house by house and family by family--and the impact grows community by community."
This year, Wells Fargo is lead sponsor for nine TCHFH homes - four at Dale Street, four in the City of Ramsey and the 2008 WomenBuild home in St. Paul.
In addition to Habitat's homeownership program, it also will rehabilitate Frogtown area homes through its "A Brush With Kindness" program which is a neighborhood outreach service offering painting, landscaping and repair to homes for existing low-income homeowners. Wells Fargo is sponsoring five homes through "A Brush With Kindness."
About Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
The mission of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is to eliminate poverty housing from the Twin Cities and to make decent, affordable shelter for all people a matter of conscience. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity builds community, helping people to be successful homeowners, because homes and families are the foundation of successful communities. The organization achieves this by: building simple, decent and affordable homes, and selling them with zero percent interest mortgages; helping low-income homeowners repair and maintain their homes; and offering Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention counseling. For more info, visit
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