Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County held a media event today (Wednesday) for Woodfield Crossing, their latest big affordable housing effort in Mishawaka.
A massive oak tree is the only thing left standing from the 9-acre Oak Grove Mobile Home Park that had deteriorated there for decades. Habitat is replacing it with 50 new homes near the southwest corner of McKinley and Byrkit, just a couple blocks from the Fields at Highland neighborhood they built in 2018 with President Jimmy Carter.
Habitat CEO Jim Williams talked about what’s coming.
“By Thanksgiving of next year, we hope that you’re going to see 21 townhouses, eight two-bedroom cottages, two duplexes, and 16 brand new, well-designed, energy-efficient starter homes that are affordable," Williams said. "Their housing payment is going to be about $1,000 a month. You can’t rent an apartment, even in St. Joseph County, for $1,000 a month. That’s how transformational this project is going to be.”
To build the streets, water and sewer, the project also is receiving $2.6 million from the state and $2 million from the city.
The St. Joseph County Habitat affiliate received that state grant as part of the Tri-County Workforce Homeownership Initiative to build 126 homes: 78 in St. Joseph, including 14 homes in South Bend’s Kennedy Park area, 36 in Elkhart and 12 in Marshall.
Also on Wednesday the Elkhart Habitat chapter announced that 22 of their 36 homes will be developed on Elkhart’s north side off County Road 15, and they plan another 14 homes in Habitat’s Homer Avenue neighborhood.
