Habitat for Humanity Hawk House Built by Students “Hits the Road”
All community members and supporters of the Habitat for Humanity House Project built by construction academy students at Seminole Ridge Community High School are invited to attend the moving of the house.
On November 13, 2012 the house modules and roof segments will be rolled out of the school’s shop and craned onto awaiting flat-bed trailers. Then, early on November 14, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. the trucks and trailers will pull out of the school in Loxahatchee and drive along Okeechobee Boulevard to the awaiting foundation at 2431 Saranac Avenue in the Westgate neighborhood of unincorporated Palm Beach County.
Seminole Ridge Community High School is located at 4601 Seminole Pratt Whitney Rd., Loxahatchee, FL 33470.
The hammers are now quiet. The drywall is in place. Doors and windows installed. Painting is finished. The final installation of electrical, plumbing and cabinets is underway. And the roof sections are now being assembled and dried-in to make ready for placement once the home is at its final location.
The 1,206 square foot house, built in its entirety by the students of the Seminole Ridge High School Construction Academy for Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County, is coming to completion.
To see photos and read about this amazing project from start to finish, please visit www.seminoleridgehabitathouse.com
The four (4) modules will then be lifted through the air and set gently down onto the foundation. As soon as the house modules are set and secured, the six (6) pre-assembled roof segments will be lifted on top of the modules. Within the daylight hours of November 14, a unique and first of its kind house for Habitat for Humanity will have been born.
At the property, Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County staff and volunteers will make all final electrical and plumbing connections and install the siding and roof shingles. The Royal Palm Beach High School Air Conditioning Academy will work with EDS Air Conditioning Contractors to install all of the ductwork and the air conditioning systems. Habitat will build the front porch and the attached rear shed on-site.
The Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, a division of the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) College of Education, has prepared an all-native landscape plan for the property and they will work with the Florida Native Plants Society (Palm Beach chapter), the house’s owner and Habitat volunteers to landscape the property.
Local architect and project manager David Porter noted, “There Is no greater ‘payback’ I can get from this project than to see the students grow, mature, enjoy and take personal pride in the work they are learning about and producing for a member of the community.”
The deserving owner, selected by Habitat for this property, is Tina Cromatie and her family. Cromatie is a remarkable woman who, by life’s unfortunate circumstances, is now caring for her deceased twin sister’s two severely handicapped, wheelchair-bound sons. She serves in the new role of “mom” while holding down a full-time job at a local hospital.
“Our partnership with Seminole Ridge High School and its Construction Academy has a great opportunity for our organization to provide another simple, decent and affordable home for a hard working family in Palm Beach County,” stated Bernard Godek, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County.“But more importantly, it has given hundreds of students an opportunity to gain knowledge and learn skills that with help them better themselves after high school – whether that be through the state university system, the community college system, through local trade organizations, or through local job opportunities.”
To learn more about this Seminole Ridge project and Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County, please visit www.habitatpbc.org or call (561) 253-2080.
About Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County
Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County is a non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of sub-standard housing by building simple, decent, safe, affordable houses for low income, hardworking qualified families in partnership with God, community volunteers and local organizations. Each Habitat partner family is required to invest a minimum of 500 sweat equity hours of their own labor into the construction of homes before being eligible to purchase their home utilizing a 30-year, no-profit, no-interest loan. The affiliate’s service area extends from Hypoluxo Road in the south to the Martin County line in the north, and from Palm Beach to Lake Okeechobee.
For more information contact John Walker, Academy Coordinator at (561) 422-2600 or via e-mail at john.walker.2@palmbeachschools.org
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Public Affairs Contact: Natalia Arenas – (561) 357-7662 – natalia.arenas@palmbeachschools.org
