NEW CASTLE 3 houses to be built in a blitz

Skilled plumbers, electricians and drywall crews are still needed as volunteers.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- It's a feat that's never been tried, but organizers say they know it can be done.
Volunteers and professionals alike will be pounding nails, building walls and putting up drywall for three homes -- all in one week's time.
The Lawrence County Housing Starts Program has paired up with Hosanna Industries, a Rochester, Pa.-based Christian ministry that builds and refurbishes homes for low- or moderate-income people, for the job.
The triple blitz build will start April 9 on Emery Street.
Hosanna volunteer coordinator Mike Killian said the effort will need an average of 150 volunteers a day to complete all three homes in five days. He said they have many unskilled volunteers, but still need skilledplumbers, electricians and drywall crews to donate their time.
Rebuilding West Side: The project is part of a plan to rebuild New Castle's West Side neighborhood and allow low- to moderate-income people own homes.
Hosanna built the first home in the project, also a blitz, on Porter Street in September. Two modular homes put in place by Warner Construction in Mercer went in a few months ago, said Brian Welsh, executive director of the Lawrence County Family Center, the social service agency directing the project.
Hosanna will build three identical 1,200-square-foot homes on Emery Street the week of April 9. The ministry will come back later this year to build three more homes -- at different times -- as part of the project, Welsh said.
The Lawrence County Housing Starts Program expects to build 19 homes and refurbish 25 others in the next three years, Welsh said.
Banks helping out: Local banks have partnered with the Family Center to provide low-interest loans. The project came from a community service project National City Bank has instituted throughout the country, said James A. Gutowski, vice president, community development and outreach manager.
Similar programs are ongoing in Mercer, Beaver and Butler counties.
Local banks have agreed to offer the new homeowners low-interest loans -- 1.5 percent below the current fixed mortgage rate for a 30-year loan -- as part of the program, he said. The banks have also fronted money that is used to buy construction materials, he said.
Although the homes are valued at $75,000 each, the homeowner is taking out a mortgage for only about $49,000, he said. The rest of the value of the house is covered through a grant that is distributed over a five- or 10-year period.
Gutowksi explained that the grants are stretched over a number of years because they want to ensure the new homeowner remains in the house for a period of years. The grants are also there to safeguard against outside investors' coming in and buying the homes and then renting them out for exorbitant amounts, he said.
Class required: The new homeowner must complete homeowner classes through the Family Center and come up with about $1,000 for the down payment.
Welsh said the homeowner classes teach people about budgeting, clearing up bad credit and practical things such as getting along with new neighbors.
All are encouraged to start neighborhood watch programs to help protect their new investment, he said.
City support: New Castle Mayor Timothy Fulkerson said that although the city is not directly involved the program, it supports it wholeheartedly. Projects similar to this one going on across the country were the focus of a National League of Cities meeting Fulkerson attended recently.
"What we are seeing is reinvesting in communities. One thing that is really strong right now [across the country] is going into neighborhoods, such as the West Side, and doing away with racism and trying to build new homes," he said.
Fulkerson said many cities are focusing on moving people out of public housing and into their own homes, which has resulted in drops in crime and promoted community spirit.
Economic boost: Welsh said that is part of the goal in the Lawrence County program, which is also having an economic impact on the area.
Welsh said an estimated $400,000 will be spent locally for building materials and supplies to build all eight homes slated for the first phase of the project. There will be an additional $300,000 in new mortgages generated through the project and close to $100,000 in tax revenue generated over the next 30 years from these homes, he said.
"We are not only reclaiming property that has been vacant and out the tax base, we are actually improving it and brining it back on line for school district, city and county taxes," he said.