Saugerties, New York. Tuesday, November 12th, 2024. Ulster County Habitat for Humanity dedicated its 24th house, the second house this year. This house represents an affirmation of their commitment to our region.
A crowd of over forty people listened as the family buying the house shared their homeownership journey. The house is fully wheelchair accessible and designed to grow with a family of five, one of whom is a wheelchair user. This is the second fully accessible home built by Habitat in the last 3 years.
As an Ulster Habitat Partner, the family invested volunteer hours on the construction site, learning about home maintenance and minor repairs, and at the Ulster Habitat ReStore as well as attending Homebuyer Education classes.
The home was built by volunteers, tradespeople, and generous support from Ulster Habitat donors. CEO Christine Brady LaValle talked about how the dedication of the build crew in extreme heat and cold allowed the fast pace of the build, and the generosity of all who contributed their dollars, time and talent to make the family’s dream of owning their own home come true.
Brady LaValle also talked about the next project for Ulster Habitat, a new development named Hope Springs. Hope Springs will see the creation of ten new units of work force housing in Saugerties, home construction starting in early 2025. Site work will soon begin, and through fundraising and grants, Ulster Habitat hopes to have five homes available for purchase for working families next year. A portion of the new development is made possible by grants, including $400,000 from the Ulster County Housing Action Fund.