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Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD York Mayo, former Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity president, held up a large photograph while standing on the porch of 84 Demond Ave. on an unseasonably cold day last week. It showed a pile of rubble, a broken-down fence and weeds. It was the same location where Mayo and about 20 others were standing. What was once a polluted site of a demolished factory is now a group of six new homes. On Dec. 13, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity celebrated the completion of what was described as its first neighborhood remodeling. The six homes are off of Fiske Avenue in the city's North End and Habitat officials and volunteers as well as city officials gathered at 84 Demond Ave. to mark the event and to honor two people who helped make the project possible. Steve Gelling, the president of the Springfield Habitat chapter, presented plaques honoring the late Barbara Rivera and Linda Petrella for their roles in the project. Gelling said the support from both Rivera, the former executive director of the New North Citizens Council and Petrella, the former director of planning for the city of Springfield, was essential in the completion of the homes. The project was started in 2003. Gelling said that the Springfield Redevelopment Authority sold the site to Habitat for $1, and when it was discovered to be a brownfields area, the city secured a grant of $300,000 to clean it up. This was the largest undertaking by the Springfield Habitat group and Gelling estimated the cost of construction for the six homes at $500,000, which included both cash and in-kind donations. The homes will bring in about $12,000 in property tax for the city annually. A number of businesses and organizations provided both funding and volunteers for the project. Daughters of the Hearts of Mary was a house sponsor. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Cares, Inc. and W.F. Young were supporting sponsors. Building sponsors were the Hampden County Sheriff's Department and the Westover Job Corps. Gelling said the organization often builds one or two homes in a neighborhood and that the chance to build six homes was a "tremendous opportunity." He said about 1,000 people donated their time and labor in making the homes a reality. He added he wishes that he could find another building site in Springfield where the organization could help re-build a neighborhood. |
