Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on 8 homes in Lake Country

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.

Habitat for Humanity Okanagan broke ground in Lake Country Wednesday afternoon to start their newest project of building 12 new homes for families in need. 

“Twelve homes is our largest build, it’s invaluable that we’re able to provide this to the Okanagan - we know what the struggles re for affordable housing in this community,” says Andrea Manifold, chief executive officer for Habitat for Humanity Okanagan. 

“There's more to be done but we’re trying to our bit with the twelve homes.”

Sharon Conway, board chair for Habitat for Humanity Okanagan says the 12 homes were a strategic plan to serve more people in the community. 

“We set out to find land that would help us do that, help us build homes,” she says. 

“Lake Country worked with us, it’s a great community here and a great counsel here, they worked with us to get this land ready for us, zoned and ready - so it was a long process to do it right … and we are ready to go.”

Conway says funding needs to come together to help complete the project, and while the provincial and federal government have helped, they’ve started their capital campaign and they’re looking for the community to get involved. 

“This is our community, we are building stability in our community and we are creating a life in this community that will last generations, so you’re involvement in this project in any way means that you’re committing to building the fabric of this community for generations,” adds Conway. 

“With the community getting involved we can get to our goal faster,” says Manifold. 

“It’s going to take us quite a bit of fundraising to bridge the gap from what we have and what we need so the community involvement is absolutely key to get behind this, it’s a collaborative approach and it’s going to be a great thing to be adding these families to Lake Country and we want them to enjoy Lake Country as their new home."

ORIGINAL: 12:00 p.m.

Habitat for Humanity Okanagan has broken ground on a new project in Lake Country. 

The development, five years in the making, will feature a total of 18 homes between Lake Country and Lumby. 

The first phase of the project in Lake Country will include eight homes — two triplexes and a duplex that are three-bed, two-bath and 1,400 square feet.

“This is a great day for Habitat Okanagan and the Lake Country community,” said Habitat Okanagan CEO Andrea Manifold, adding the group has had to push through “unprecedented challenges” due to COVID-19.

The cost of construction for the homes is $2.9M and Manifold says they hope the community will continue to support them through ReStores or donations. Help of all kinds is also being accepted from contractors who want to contribute to the actual construction.

Some families have already been approved to move into the homes in Lake Country once they are complete, but more are needed. Applications can be found online.

More to come...