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Work officially started on the Habitat For Humanity site in North Lansing Sunday, as more than 70 people showed up for an opening ceremony and to begin construction of a shed that will be used to store tools while the house is being built.  Amber Little, who will move into the house when it is completed, was on hand with her two sons Maleki (6) and Maximus (2), and her parents Anthony and Charlotte Little.

"I'm looking forward to having a home to call my own," she says.  "Working with Habitat for Humanity is going to be really awesome to be able to say that I actually put work into it and helped build it myself.  And I'm excited not to have to move my kids in and out of different places."


Little participates in an Ithaca Housing Authority Section 8 Family Self Sufficiency program that requires you to set money aside to buy your own home.  When Tompkins Community Action's Barb Nellenback suggested she apply for the Habitat For Humanity house, she decided to give it a shot.  She was chosen by the local Habitat affiliate based on  level of need, willingness to become partners in the program and her ability to repay the loan, and was only notified that she had been chosen a few weeks ago.  Since then things have been moving quickly.

The ground breaking ceremony Included a welcome by President of the Board of Directors for Tompkins and Cortland Counties Angela Loh, an introduction of the Littles by Nellenback, a blessing of the land by Father Scott Kubinski, and a welcome by Sally Hoyt, and an explanation of the site and house plans by Construction Coordinator Ed Siemon.


The one story, three bedroom house will go on a seven acre lot, about five and a half of which is reserved for a conservation easement.  It will have a dining/living area, and a kitchen with a small mud/utility room.  It will be built on a slab with radiant heat coming from the floor, powered by propane.  Avalon Homes' Rusty Summer, a Habitat board member, contributed one of her company's basic home designs, modified for Habitat's needs.

"We went through several iterations of the house design," Siemon said.  "Habitat is requesting that all houses be handicap adaptable, so everything in this house is made to ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) specs.  We also want the house to be green, which means that it will be almost air tight to keep the heating bills down so Amber doesn't have to pay a lot of money for heating.   And of course it helps everybody and the environment."

Loh says the group hopes to turn the house over to Little by December 1 to take advantage of an expiring federal program.  "It's really good to get started, especially with our aggressive deadline," she says.  "The reason we have that deadline is that there is a federal tax credit program for first time homeowners that expires by December first.  If we can get the family in they can take advantage of that tax credit this year, so we're really hoping that we can do that."

After the ground breaking the group started assembling pieces of a shed that were put together last week by Ithaca College students.  The students provided labor and some of the materials.  The shed will be used to store tools and equipment while the home is being constructed, and left for Little to use after she moves in.


The group's fundraising got a boost as well, when Tompkins Cortland Builders and Remodelers Association Vice President Dean Shea, also of Sunnybrook Builders, presented a check for $821.  The group reserves one dollar for Habitat For Humanity from each ticket to their annual home show. 

Loh says the group is always looking for volunteers of all kinds, including construction volunteers as well as some to do the background work on committees, to raise money, to talk to local companies about donating materials, or organizing work groups.  Before the ceremony she estimated that between 30 to 50 people would show up, but the numbers were actually around 70.

"I think it's awesome," Little said.  "I was so surprised to see the cars coming down Locke Road.  It's totally overwhelming.  I can't believe this many people showed up."


Siemon says that work sessions will be on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Part of the requirement for becoming the homeowner is that Little must put in 500 hours of work on the house.  Her family and friends can help her to earn that credit.  She says she would like to work on future Habitat For Humanity projects to help other families as well.

"I would love to," she says.  "I've always thought about it, but I haven't heard of anything has happened around here before."


While the Tomkins Cortland group has been active in Cortland, it has been about 15 years since they built a house in Tompkins County.

Little and her boys are currently living in a two bedroom apartment in Lansing, but have moved several times.  "I'm looking forward to having a place that we can call a home, that my kids can grow up in," she says.  Now we don't have to cram everything into one room.  They won't have to get used to a new apartment every year.  It's just going to be so much fun to be in one place and not having to move every year."

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