Volunteer Marvin Walter, Lawrence, checks the trim around a window in a new Habitat for Humanity home at 159 N. Comfort Court in North Lawrence. The Hawk

Katie Becker, Lawrence, staples a plastic covering to a bouquet of flowers Saturday at the Clinton Parkway Assembly of God Church, 3200 Clinton Parkway. Forty-three volunteers from the Lawrence Habitat for Humanity's fourth Women Build project converged on the church to help University Floral deliver flowers for Valentine's Day.

A quiet nook in North Lawrence is about to become busy.

Construction is expected to pick up in the Comfort Neighborhood, near North Eighth and Walnut streets, where the Lawrence Habitat for Humanity plans to build four homes by the end of June.

In order for the nonprofit housing organization to land a $130,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, it has to build seven houses by the end of June and 10 by the end of January 2008. The third house was dedicated Saturday to homeowners Blake and Dawn Davis and their two children, Tristan, 2, and Bethany, 1.

The building pace is faster than in the past few years, when three or four houses were built.

Jean Lilley, executive director of Lawrence’s Habitat, said the pace depends on whether they have the property and funds.

“We have 16 lots out there right now and we will just keep building them as we both have the funds to do it and the deadline to meet,” she said of the Comfort Neighborhood, which is a 4-acre development with a total estimated cost of $1.2 million.

Those moving into the area couldn’t be more pleased with the one-of-a-kind project.

“I think that it is really neat that we are getting to know our neighbors and work with our neighborhoods instead of just moving in,” Dawn Davis said. “It’s like one big huge family on that block now.”

The neighbors have met each other while putting in their “sweat equity,” one of Habitat’s requirements for homeowners. Each adult in selected families needs to work 50 hours on someone else’s home or in Habitat operations before construction can begin on their home and a total of 225 hours before moving in.

“When we started the very first house out there on the court, they just got closer and closer and more excited about becoming neighbors and could see how the neighborhood was forming,” Lilley said. “It has been a lot of fun to watch. They have become very good friends.”

Toni Husted, who will join the neighborhood in May, agrees.

“I’ve met a lot of wonderful people and made a lot of wonderful friendships,” Husted said. “People have been very, very caring and helpful.”

Women form team

Husted’s home will be Lawrence Habitat’s third Women Build project, meaning the house will be built mostly by women. The first Women Build home was constructed in 1999 when the first ladies of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas were on hand for the nail-driving ceremony. The second home was finished a year ago.

Efforts have been under way to raise $40,000 before the nail-driving ceremony March 3.

Dru Sampson, a member of the Women Build 2007 steering committee, said her women’s group has had fundraisers including bake sales and a shopping day where downtown merchants donated a percentage of their proceeds to the project. They were $2,000 short on Valentine’s Day, so Sampson rounded up 40 women and three men who delivered flowers for the cause. On Saturday, they had to money needed to start the house.

The Women Build group, like all house sponsors, needs to raise $60,000 before they complete the house by the end of May.

Sampson said she is looking forward to helping with her first Habitat house.

“I think Habitat does absolutely wonderful work,” Sampson said. “I am very pleased to be able to help women sustain their families and provide adequate housing for their families.”

They need volunteers not only to help with construction but also to provide meals.

“There’s space and volunteer spots for all kinds of talents,” Sampson said. “We are always looking for volunteers.”

Challenges exist

Lilley estimated that it takes 430 volunteers to build each house, which has the same general floor plan as the others and about 1,110 square feet of space. Volunteer services on each house range from construction and raising funds to serving on committees and providing food for work crews.

“We could not do what we do without the volunteer force that we have. It would be impossible,” she said.

Lilley admitted that finding volunteers can be challenging, especially when the weather turns bad or Kansas University is closed.

She also said it is easier to find people to work at the construction sites than to work in Habitat’s year-old ReStore, at 800 Comet Lane, which sells donated new and used building materials to raise funds for Habitat homes.

She said Habitat had to hire part-time workers to keep up with demands at the store where sales growth has risen from about $2,000 when it opened to about $8,600.

“We are in a big fundraising mode all of the time,” Lilley said. “We have survived since 1989, so that says a lot about the community.”

Since opening, Habitat has built 63 houses in the Lawrence community.

Most houses are sponsored by groups such as the Lawrence Home Builders Association, banks and churches, Lion’s clubs and university organizations.

Habitat is struggling to find businesses to support a Corporate Challenge house, which had been scheduled for a nail-driving ceremony in January, but has been delayed because of lack of funding.

City Commissioner Sue Hack will be participating in this spring’s Women Build project.

“I think anytime we can help provide housing for folks in this community, we’re taking a step in the right direction,” Hack said. “Particularly when we read the article about the vast number of homeless families and young children. We ought to step up as a community and see what we can do to take care of that.”

Behind the scenes

Lawrence Habitat for Humanity, 840 Conn., has four full-time employees: Lilley; Mark Brooks, construction manager; Katherine Harris, ReStore manager; and Gwen Klingenberg, administrative assistant. The ReStore has four part-time employees.

The employees rely on eight committees: church relations, construction, family selection, family support, finance, fund development, ReStore and site selection. The committees keep it flourishing along with a board of directors. There are 13 members on the board of directors, which is led by Jeff Alderman, president of the board and executive director of the Kansas Bar Association.

Lilley said Habitat’s projected net income is $727,000 for this fiscal year, which is July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007.

Generally, Habitat purchases property from individuals at below-market cost, Lilley said. Sometimes, it is donated. The board of directors makes the final decision on purchasing property.

“Our biggest cost increase has been property,” Lilley said. “The cost of property has increased quite a bit. Cost of construction materials also keeps going up, but not nearly as quickly as property is.”

Habitat provides the interest-free loans and homeowners pay only for the cost of construction because the labor is donated. Lilley said the first Habitat homeowners, Jerry and Mary Richter, took out a loan of $27,000 in 1989. Today’s loans are about $75,000.

Husted said she likely wouldn’t be able to become a homeowner without Habitat’s help.

“Being a single mother, it’s hard to make ends meet,” she said.