Open House of the Completed Canon Perdido Affordable Homes

You are invited to the Canon Perdido Open House

With just the last details left on the homes of the Canon Perdido Project, Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County would like to invite you to an open house event on Saturday, November 15th 2014. The project homes are located at 822 E. Canon Perdido Street, Santa Barbara CA 93103.

Designed by architects Ryan Mills and Ed DeVicente, the units range from 750-1,200 square feet each and are 100% affordable and very low income units. The project includes 2 three-bedroom units, 8 two-bedroom units, and 2 one-bedroom units, which are all completely accessible to disabled persons.

Built in line with Passive House standards, the project aimed to achieve “near zero” energy usage on the homes by combining passive components such as window placements, insulation, Energy Star appliances and building wrap with “active components such as solar thermal and photovoltaic systems. With the finishing touches being added, these homes will be the first affordable housing development in Southern California certified as a “Passive House”, and the homes will have a 70-80% reduction in energy use over the current energy code requirements.

Before the homeowners move in, Habitat for Humanity would love to welcome the community to tour the finished develeopment of the homes and the future homeowners will be offerring tours of their new homes throughout the day! Georgia's Smokehouse gourmet food truck, offering a full menu, will be parked onsite from 11:30-1:30pm.

We would like to thank the donors, volunteers, and community for this joint effort in successfully completing this project and would like to share with the community and those interested in what Habitat for Humanity has been involved with for the past two years!

Please come join us and we hope to see you soon.

Construction update on the Canon Perdido Affordable Homes

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County is 85% complete with construction. In July Habitat welcomed volunteer groups from Curvature, Procore, and Reality Church, as well as many individuals, who helped prime, paint, hang drywall, install base board and much more at the Canon Perdido Affordable Homes site. 

Construction progress at the Canon Perdido Affordable Homes site. 

Volunteers from Curvature pose for a group photo.

Volunteers from ProCore working on the 2nd floor balcony railing. 

Volunteers from Reality Church pose before the workday begins. 

Volunteers provide a bulk of our labor and allow Habitat to keep construction costs at a minimum. Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who have helped with framing, insulation, drywall, painting and much more. We are able to provide permanent and affordable housing for low-income families because of your time and support.

We are in the final weeks of construction. If you haven't volunteered yet, there is still time. Individual volunteers can sign up for shifts directly online.  If you are interested in confirming a group workday for your business or organization, please contact Habitat by email or at 692-2226.

Meet a Partner Family: The Rodriguez Family

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County is proud to partner with Luis and Magdalia Rodriguez in the construction of their new home.

Luis and Magdalia are the parents of two young children, Abraham and Ximena. The parents have lived and worked in Santa Barbara for the past 15 years but have struggled to afford the high cost of housing. To make ends meet the family of 4 rents out a bedroom in a larger home. They look forward to shortly own one of the two-bedroom homes that Habitat for Humanity is currently building on Canon Perdido Street. 


Like all Habitat for Humanity partner families, Luis and Magdalia will buy their home with a no-interest mortgage and monthly payments made to fit within 35% of their total family income. They have begun contributing "sweat equity" hours on the construction of their new home and are enrolled in Habitat's Homeownership Readiness Curriculum.  

 

Breaking Ground on 12 New Homes

On Wednesday, December 12th Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County broke ground on 12 new affordable homes for low-income families in Santa Barbara. The 12 home development will provide safe and affordable housing for 43 people, including 20 children. 

Mayor Helene Schneider, Fire Chief Andrew DiMizio, Montecito Bank and Trust CEO and President Janet Garufis, and Pastor Colleen Hurley-Bates participated in the ceremony which was attended by donors, corporate partners, volunteers, family mentors, and each of the 12 new partner families. 

Meet a Habitat Partner Family: The Lintons

Lars and Emily Linton can't wait to pay their mortgage because it will be a brighter future for their young family. 

Bobby McGee Photography

Lars and Emily Linton graduated from UCSB and married in 2007. Today they are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters—Lydia, age 2½, and Lindy Grace, age 4 months. After receiving a PhD in sociology, Lars works full time as an assistant pastor. Until recently, Emily taught at Coastline Christian Academy in Goleta.

Even with their two combined incomes, Lars and Emily could not afford to buy a home in Santa Barbara. Instead, they rent a small two-bedroom apartment on the east side of Santa Barbara. The apartment has had a series of sewage and mold problems. Lars and Emily recently spent months sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor after the walls of their bedroom warped from sewage backing up from the street.

The Lintons heard about the Canon Perdido Affordable Homes through a friend’s email. The family attended the first of six information meetings for interested homeowners at the Eastside Library. Seeing the hundreds of other families in need of an affordable home, Lars and Emily were apprehensive about their chance of selection, but recognized it was an opportunity they shouldn’t pass up.

Learning they were selected to be homeowners was a bright light during a very dark period. Baby Lindy Grace was born at Cottage Hospital in July of 2012. Hours after her delivery, Lindy was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. At 11 days old, she had open heart surgery and spent a total of seven weeks in the UCLA Medical Center and at Cottage Hospital’s NICU. It was an emotional and scary time for the family, to say the least. Lindy will need additional heart surgeries in her future.

A new Habitat home will mean a safe, secure home where Lydia and Lindy can play and grow without the worry of mold or other problems in their residential environment.

Like all Habitat partner families, Lars and Emily will buy their home with a no-interest mortgage and monthly payments made to fit within 35% of their income. Early next year, they will begin contributing "sweat equity" hours on the construction of their new home.

This holiday season, the Lintons have new-found hope for their future!

Meet a Habitat for Humanity Partner Family: The Villarreals

Over the course of the following year we will introduce a new partner family each month.

Habitat fr Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County is proud to partner with Rima Villarreal on the construction of her new home. Rima is a single mother of Shane, age 4, and Rubin, 4 months. Raised in Lompoc, Rima attended UC San Diego before moving to Santa Barbara in the spring of 2011. She works for the City of Santa Barbara at the Downtown Public Library.  

In November of 2011, as she was pregnant with her second son, Rima and Shane moved into an emergency housing shelter. They lived at this shelter until March of 2012 when they moved into a transitional home at St. Vincent's. Rima gave birth to Rubin in July and the three  currently share a communal cottage with four women and six other children.    

Rima and her family will move into one of the Canon Perdido Affordable Homes when they are completed in 2014. A new Habitat home will mean a safe and permanent home for the family, a place where Shane and Rubin can grow, thrive, and feel secure. 

Like all Habitat partner families, Rima will purchase her home with a no-interest mortgage and monthly payments made to fit within 35% of her annual income. Early next year she will begin contributing “sweat equity” hours on the construction of the new home.