Gus Dunn, left, and his mother Catherine Dunn break ground with the Tiffandy and Bill Shreve and their two daughters Autumn and Lacey at the Patuxent Habitat for Humanity affordable housing project at Fenwick Ridge in Lexington Park Tuesday. (Photo: Guy Leonard)
HOLLYWOOD, Md. (Oct. 16, 2008)—Officials with the local Patuxent Habitat for Humanity office say it’s been a long time in coming, but now with the ground breaking of some county-donated land in Lexington Park near Patuxent River Naval Air Station they can start building affordable homes for five deserving families.
The new affordable housing project, called Fenwick Ridge, is the product of a partnership between St. Mary’s County government and Patuxent Habitat for Humanity that had its genesis in the last Board of County Commissioners.
The five homes will be built on a small portion of some 13,000 acres of rural legacy land, with the vast remaining untouched by development. On the front section of the property, just of Route 235 and Forest Park Road, a small farmers market is slated for construction as well.
“This is a blessed time… for doing something for the community,” said Gary Williams, president of Patuxent Habitat for Humanity. “There’s such a spirit of working together in this county.
“It’s such a sweet place to get something done.”
While these homes are sold to the deserving families picked out by the staff of the agency, complete with a nointerest loan, the homes are not giveaways, Williams said.
Adults who will be moving into the homes will be required to put in 200 hours of “sweat equity” into building their own home, he said.
The homes will represent a “green” housing project, Williams said complete with rain gardens to prevent runoff and rain barrels to save water for gardening.
Future home owners, agency volunteers from the community and churches who support the project all gather together to build the homes; Williams said that the project could be completed in as little as three months.
Two families who will take up residence once the homes are built helped break ground on the project Tuesday.
“We’re thrilled,” said Catherine Dunn, a teacher at St. Mary’s Ryken High School. “It’s the best thing that could’ve happened to us.”
Dunn and her son, Gus, have been living with friends in St. Inigoes and living conditions have gotten crowded there.
Bill and Tiffany Shreve, with their daughters Autumn, 2 years old, and Lacey, one year old, were ready to take up residence soon, too.
“We greatly appreciate this,” Tiffany Shreve said. “This is the best gift anyone could give us.”