It will kind of be Lawrence’s version of the popular television show “Extreme Home Makeover.”

Come this summer, hundreds of construction workers will converge on a site near the corner of Homewood Street and Bullene Avenue to build an entire three-bedroom, one-bath home in a total of eight days. And just like on the ABC television program – which does rapid remodels – the beneficiary will be a lucky homeowner.

The people behind this event aren’t television producers, but rather the Lawrence Home Builders Assn. and Lawrence Habitat for Humanity. The two groups are teaming up for their first partnership to put a family into a newly built house. And they’re hoping the way they’ll do it will open some eyes.

“It will all be done in a week,” said Kelly Drake, president of the Home Builders Assn. and owner of Mallard Homes. “It would be at least three to four months if a normal construction company was doing it on a normal schedule.”

That means that on many days there will be 30 or 40 people on the job site at once. The entire house should be framed in a few hours, and roofers and painters might be on the scene within a day, when normally it would be several weeks.

“It will be fun to watch,” said Jean Lilley, executive director of Lawrence Habitat for Humanity. “It will definitely draw some attention for us. We mention to people that they are going to build a house in a week and their eyes get really big.”

Lilley said the house will be sold at cost to a Lawrence family like other Habitat homes are. The family also will help work on a future home to fulfill the requirement that home buyers provide “sweat equity.”

Daniel King of King's Construction in Oskaloosa runs a tractor dragging a silt fence over a plot of land Wednesday afternoon where a new neighborhood of Habitat for Humanity homes will soon emerge in North Lawrence. According to King, home construction should begin after the groundwork is completed.

Home builders expect to donate at least $50,000 in time, materials and money to the project, Drake said. Fundraising for the effort is going well, he said.

“We’re committed to doing the project,” Drake said. “It will happen.”

The project – which has been dubbed Blitz Build – is part of a national effort for the national home builders association and Habitat for Humanity to work together. The partnership is expected to build at least 500 homes in 160 communities.

Individual home builders have helped on Lawrence Habitat homes in the past, but this is the first time the entire association has worked on a Habitat project. Lilley said she thought the unique concept was a good way to take advantage of the limited time that busy builders have.

“It will let them get the work done and get back to their projects with just a slight interruption in their schedules,” Lilley said.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Habitat continues to work on a more traditional project. Work to build streets and sidewalks has begun in the Comfort Neighborhood, a 16 house Habitat development in North Lawrence that will be the largest project tackled by the local organization.

Lilley said the project – in the 800 block of Walnut Street – was moving ahead well, with the first seven homes expected to be completed by June 2007. The entire project is expected to be completed by mid-2009. She said the recent approval of the city’s new development code should not cause the project any problems.

But fundraising for the neighborhood – named after the late longtime Habitat volunteer Clay Comfort – is ongoing. Lilley said another $200,000 is needed to complete the street and infrastructure work. About $1.5 million in donations are needed for the home construction.

The organization is using grants and donations from area residents and businesses. Habitat recently began selling engraved “Comfort bricks” that will be used to build an entryway into the development. Anyone interested in donating to the project can call the Habitat office at 832-0777.

Habitat, which relies heavily on volunteer labor, sells its homes at cost to individuals who make between 30 percent to 60 percent of the median family income as determined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Most homes built by the Lawrence organization sell for about $75,000, Lilley said.

Lilley said demand for the homes was increasing steadily. The organization recently took 25 applications during a sign-up period, an increase from about 12 to 15 applications during past years, she said.

Want to donate?

The Lawrence Habitat for Humanity recently began selling engraved bricks that will be used to build an entryway into its new North Lawrence development. Anyone interested in donating to the project can call the Habitat office at 832-0777.