Huntersville partners with Habitat for Humanity to provide affordable housing

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — The town of Huntersville is partnering with Our Towns Habitat for Humanity to provide new, affordable homes.

Commissioners unanimously voted to gift 12 plots of land last month to build six new homes in the Norman Park neighborhood.

“The lots are small enough that they wouldn’t pass today’s code. We’re combining the 12 lots to make six lots that will be big enough to build homes that meet all the code requirements for Huntersville,” said Chris Ahearn, CEO of Our Towns Habitat for Humanity.

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The non-profit serves families from Statesville to Huntersville.

Dawn Minster is one of the people the organization has helped.

“Never, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be a homeowner,” she said.

Her dream has been a reality for the last four years.

“Moving into this area, I was renting, and rents went extremely high, being on a limited budget,” Minster said.

Her mortgage is now around $300 per month, not including utilities.

“It’s a lot less expensive, that’s for sure,” she said.

The homes will take shape in the same neighborhood as Minster’s, where Habitat has already built 15 affordable homes.

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The land, which was originally gifted to the town in 1999, sits between Hambright and McIlwaine roads in southwestern Huntersville, near O’Hara Street and Platon and Titan avenues.

“Six more families in the Huntersville area will have the opportunity for a home that they can afford,” Ahearn said.

According to Ahearn, the donation is a huge help, considering they spend upwards of $35,000 on some plots.

Already 28 families are waiting for a new home.

“Unfortunately, the waiting list is longer than we would like it to be,” Ahearn said.

But Minster said it’s worth the wait.

"I think it makes you appreciate what you are being offered a lot more,” Minster said.

The agreement between Habitat and Huntersville states that if the homes are resold within the next 10 years, they need to stay income restricted.

Employment, volunteer participation and homeownership training are just some qualifications Habitat requires its home recipients.

Cox Media Group