Manhattan Area Habitat for Humanity recently announced a new coalition partnership with other area agencies for workforce housing.
The coalition includes K-State’s College of Architecture and Planning, Manhattan Area Technical College, Flint Hills Renewable Energy & Efficiency Cooperative, and Flint Hills Job Corps. Habitat Director Josh Brewer says workforce housing has been identified as a critical need for the Manhattan area.
“One of the things we’re wanting to accomplish through this partnership is to increase inventory, specifically housing that’s accessible to part of the population that makes up between 60 and 80 percent of our area’s median income,” he said.
Brewer says the workforce considered to be in that population is a wide range from grocery store employees to police officers. The goal, he says, is to create access for these individuals to be able to buy a home without burdening their expenses with a large mortgage.
“We have a mortgage lending process which allows the homeowner to purchase into the home for the cost of materials and professional labor, while lending a second mortgage on the value of the home. This process creates an access opportunity to building equity in a home,” he said.
Habitat for Humanity will also be overseeing the construction process, which allows them to open up volunteer opportunities.
One project Habitat will construct on its 30th build this year will be their first prototype home in Ogden.
Brewer says it will be the first home they’ve built using high performance building techniques.
“It uses low-bearing insulated walls. It will be the biggest difference and will be the biggest difference you see as the house is stood up. This approach not only produces a home that is really high insulation performance, but will also allow the build to go so much faster,” he said.
Actual construction is only expected to take about one to two weeks to complete. It will also be the organization’s first project to include solar panels. This combined with the insulation will produce a home that has a negative utility cost during the summer.
“After 2020, I think we as an affiliate had to go back to the drawing board a little bit and think about how we engage our community partnerships to be more creative, resilient,” he said.
Building a prototype home was just one of many goals the organization has for 2021.
Brewer says they also expect to finish their 29th build sometime this spring.
To donate to the Manhattan Area Habitat for Humanity, click here.
