Habitat Village
Request for Financial Support for Habitat Village: A Proposed 3.5 acre Subdivision for 18 Low-Cost Homes in Rosenberg, Texas
Proposal
Fort Bend Habitat for Humanity is seeking financial support to build a small subdivision of low-cost homes in Rosenberg Texas called Habitat Village. Funds collected for this project will be used to install streets, sewers and water lines on a 3.5 acre property in north Rosenberg off Avenue F and then build 18 houses. Construction is expected to start in the fall of 2006 and extend until the end of 2008 using mostly volunteer labor. Total estimated cost for this development is approximately 1.25 million dollars and to date approximately $450,000 in grants have been received! This generous support will allow the start of construction this year but additional funding is needed to complete the infrastructure and fund additional housing. Fort Bend Habitat is contacting companies prominent in the Fort Bend County business community, schools, and civic organizations to request help with this exciting and much-needed project.
Organization Background
The following link provides additional information about Habitat for Humanity in Fort Bend County: http://www.fortbendhfh.org
For over 25 years, Habitat for Humanity has helped low-income families reach their dreams of a place to call home. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat constructs simple, decent homes with the help of the homeowner-partner families. Habitat houses are sold to these families at no profit and financed with affordable, no-interest loans. The homeowner’s monthly mortgage payments are used to build even more Habitat houses.
To date in Ft Bend County, 31 homes have been built in Richmond, Rosenberg and surrounding communities. Habitat Village however is the first time an entire subdivision of homes has been planned in Fort Bend County.
Description of Project
Habitat Village will be constructed within the City of Rosenberg, southwest of Houston in Fort Bend County (see Figures 1 & 2). A generous donation has made possible the purchase of 3.571 acres of land west of the city center.
 Figure 1 |
 Figure 2 |
An engineering firm in Rosenberg (Kelly Kaluza and Associates) has been contracted to provide a preliminary design for Habitat Village and to help obtain the necessary approvals from the City of Rosenberg Planning Commission and City Council. Preliminary approvals for the plan were obtained in October and final approvals are expected during the first quarter of 2006.
The preliminary Utility, Street, & Drainage Layout for Habitat Village prepared by Kelly Kaluza & Associates (see Figure 3) allows for 18 homes within the subdivision. To ready the land for building the first home in 2006, concrete streets and sidewalks, sewer lines and water utilities will need to be installed on this tract of land.
The homes will be financed in part by sponsorship of schools, businesses, churches, and other interested community organizations. The start of home construction at Habitat Village will likely begin in the fall of 2006 assuming that the rest of financing for the infrastructure and the appropriate permits are obtained this spring. Organizations planning to sponsor Habitat homes in 2006 include Clements High School (on a lot in Needville); a group of four Fort Bend churches: Christ United Methodist Church, St. John’s United Methodist Church, First Baptist of Richmond, and Holy Cross Episcopal; St. Lawrence Catholic Church, Elkins High School, and FairfieldNodal.
Figure 3. Utility, Street, & Drainage Layout for Habitat Village prepared by Kelly Kaluza & Associates.
Project Budget
Table 1 shows the estimated costs for infrastructure for Habitat Village.
| A. Contractual | Estimated Cost |
| Engineering, Surveying and Technical – Kelley R. Kalusa & Associates | $32.500 |
| Contractual Cost Total | $32,500 |
| B. Construction | |
| Water Line Distribution System | $28,560 |
| Sanitary Sewer Lines | $32,875 |
| Storm Sewer and Drainage | $27,300 |
| Street Paving (24' Wide/Open Ditch) | $75,500 |
| Construction Contingencies (10%) | $16,424 |
| Construction Cost Total | $180,269 |
| C. Land and Other Costs | |
| Purchase of 3.571 acre subdivision site in the City of Rosenberg | $100,000 |
| Park land dedication fees (18 lots at $350.00 each) | $6,300 |
| Miscellaneous platting and permit fees (18 lots at $300.00 each) | $5,400 |
| 10% Other Contingencies | $11,080 |
| Other Cost Total | $121,880 |
| Infrastructure Cost Estimate | $334,649 |
| Cost of 18 houses @ $50K / house | $900,000 |
| Total Cost of Project | $1,234,649 |
Table 2 shows the status of fund raising for Habitat Village as of Dec 15, 2005.
| Requested | Received | |
| Donation for Land Purchase in Memory of Joe Myers | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| FairfieldNodal | $350,000 | $350,000 |
| Funding needed from other sources | $784,649 | |
| Totals | $1,234,649 | $450,000 |
As Table 2 shows, funding for purchase of the land has already been secured and the land was purchased for the project in October 2005. In addition, a generous grant of $350,000 has been recently received from FairfieldNodal. That leaves approximately $785,000 needed to fund construction of the entire village.
Planned recognition of Project Sponsors
Project sponsors who are willing to be recognized for their support will be honored in the following ways during construction of Habitat Village:
- A construction sign will be placed on location listing the names and emblems of sponsoring organizations. This sign will be present during construction of the subdivision infrastructure and homes, the latter which is estimated to take 4-5 years;
- To commemorate ground breaking and during construction of the houses, articles will be written for the local papers (Houston Chronicle, Fort Bend Star and Fort Bend Sun) that mention the contributions of project sponsors;
- A permanent marker or markers will be placed within the subdivision to record the contributions of sponsors who made construction of the subdivision possible. This will include sponsors who fund both infrastructure and the individual homes. Design of these markers is still under consideration but they will list the various project sponsors who wish to be recognized and the nature of their contributions.
This proposal was prepared 02/18/2006 by
The Fort Bend Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors
10435 Greenbough, Suite 200
Stafford, TX 77477
For additional information about this project please contact any board member or the following individuals:
Ms. Debera Fontenot
281-242-5526 (office)
dfontenot@fairfield.com
John Noll
832-854-4687 (office)
281-414-3972 (cell)
jnoll@chevron.com
Rev. Don Kolkmeier
281-389-8056
donkolk@intertex.net