Handing the keys of a Habitat home to a partner family is a major hand up for the family and a joyous occasion for the team that helped build the home. This winter, those experiences will be doubled, as WCHFH works with not one, but two families who will move into the side-by-side homes of a duplex.
The duplex is being built on Lock Street in the Port Colden section of Washington Township. The land was purchased from a local couple who offered a tremendous discount because it would be used for a Habitat home. Port Colden is on the National Register of Historical Places due to its prominent role as part of the Morris Canal. In fact, “Lock Street” gets its name from the presence of a canal lock that was once situated at the location. The Port Colden community church and school have assisted in the fundraising for this project.
Building two separate, somewhat customized homes under a single roof is a challenge for the construction team. The two families that will occupy the duplex are quite different: one family is a couple with four children, while the other is a single parent with one child. The construction team overcame issues regarding the complexity of safety, security, second story, and egress designs and building codes and has now completely prepared the site for winter activities.
Construction will continue on most Thursdays and Saturdays at the site. The homes are scheduled to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2017. As with all Habitat homes, built with donations of time and money, labor a
nd funds are required throughout the build cycle. If you would like to be a part of the construction team, you can call the Habitat office at (908) 835-1300 or see our web page. If you would like to make a monetary donation to the building fund, you can send a check made out to Warren County Habitat for Humanity to our office at 31 Belvidere Avenue, Washington, NJ 07882.
