To best communicate the significance of this 8-acre Habitat Housing Development, we asked three members of our Board and Build Committee why they felt led to be a part of this project and why they believe the 8-acre development is essential for families in Denton County!
Jerry Morgan, long-time volunteer and Build Committee member, has been involved with the 8-acre project since the very beginning. He is so excited for the 8-acres: "I've been the leader on several homes, and made pretty good friends with many of the families. It'll be real rewarding to see it all happening on a much larger scale. That's why I've been so involved with the 8 acres. It'll be rewarding to start seeing the children of these young families grow up in that neighborhood."
Morgan explained that Habitat Denton used to buy lots for $5-$15 thousand dollars back in the early 2000s when he started volunteering with us. Existing lots now cost Habitat $60-$80 thousand dollars, so it has become increasingly difficult to build affordable homes on that expensive of a lot. Lot prices in Denton will continue to go up and up, so he thinks having this acreage developed into lots will give us several years of building homes without buying those expensive lots.
Morgan also pointed out that the 8-acre development is an opportunity for a whole lot more community interest and involvement because anyone can drive down to the development and see it happening, all right together in the same place, building homes quickly, making people want to be involved in it.
Frank Scarlata, another long-time volunteer and Build Committee member, had been more involved with Habitat in the past and always knew about the 8-acre project and hoped it would come to fruition one day. When he saw the seed money campaign story in the last newsletter, he was so excited about the possibility of it finally happening and wanted to be a part of it:
"My wife and I subscribe to the mantra of Habitat for Humanity. Habitat does such a good job of bringing families together, building homes at such a low cost for those in need. We are "Pro-Habitat"! I've always understood the 8-acres project, but it just appeared to be sitting there for several years. Then I saw the newsletter mentioning the seed money campaign, and we made the decision to get on board with it because we believe in Habitat! We hope the 8-acres comes to fruition sooner rather than later."
Brian Strohl, current Board member of Habitat for Humanity of Denton County, has been deeply involved with the 8-acres project: "My time has been spent in due diligence. This means the early planning, design, estimating and coordination with the City of Denton to ensure the development meets city standards, enhances the surrounding neighborhood and makes it economically possible to provide homes for the hard working families of Denton."
When asked why he feels this Habitat Village is essential for families in Denton County, he stated: "Denton is at a real cross roads. The price of homes and apartment rents in Denton County continues to outpace wages. This means families are forced to forgo other necessities just to put a roof over their heads. Habitat for Humanity provides an opportunity for a family already paying rent in a very often sub-standard home, to afford a new home in a responsible way. In other words they can have money at the end of the month for food, medicine and school. The entire community wins when families can make a living, provide for housing and other necessities."
