Habitat for Humanity to build neighborhood for 20 families

Just about a quarter of a mile from the center of Bloomington, the six-acre property for a neighborhood along the B-Line Trail provides future residents accessibility to necessary services.

Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County announced that the City of Bloomington approved the organization’s proposal to purchase the six-acre property.

“It was a dream location,” Kerry Thomson, executive director, said. “We’ve scoured this entire county looking for a piece of land that was appropriate to build on.”

Habitat proposed a purchase for the six acres earlier this year and is expected to make the purchase in December.

From there, Thomson said the organization will work with the planning department to make official decisions. She said the construction dates for the neighborhood would be in 2013.

“It takes about three years when we start with a raw property like this before we can begin building,” Thomson said. “We need to go through the planning process, raise funding and then put in roads and water line infrastructure.”

Thomson said Habitat has been looking for a place such as the B-line Trail to build. She said it provides a family easy accessibility to grocery stores and is in walking distance of the local elementary schools.

She said having these services in close proximity makes all living more affordable.

While the organization is still in the design process for the new neighborhood, Habitat expects to house 20 families, said Meagan Niese, marketing and communications director for Habitat.

Each family must meet three criteria before applying for housing.

The family must be able to pay for the Habitat mortgage, be in need of housing and be willing to help in building other Habitat homes, according to the organization’s website.

“We are a last resort for home ownership,” Thomson said.