On Saturday, a celebration took place at Weavers Grove to recognize the hard work of those who made the community possible. Attendees ate, drank, played games, and toured the site off of Weaver Dairy and Sunrise roads in Chapel Hill where many new houses will be built.
Jennifer Player, the president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, spoke during the celebration and addressed her team and some of the groups who have helped make the affordable housing community an achievable feat.
“I’m so thrilled to welcome you today to Weavers Grove,” Player said. “You all have likely heard the African proverb. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
“Today we’re celebrating the start of construction for Weavers Grove,” Player continued. “So we’ve just completed the site clearing and infrastructure phase, and over the next couple of months we’ll start building homes here.”
The Weavers Grove project has been in the works for the last 20 years and is coming to fruition through hard work, donors, and support from the community.
“Habitat will be building 102 homes in total. We’ll build about 20 a year over the next five years,” Player said. “The first six homeowners have been selected already and those homes will start in June, and then we’ll continually build between now and 2028.”
Player said Habitat for Humanity focuses on building homes for those in the community who can’t afford to on their own. The organization partners with families to not only provide homes but a sense of community as well.
“We’ll have a mile of walking trails, a community garden, a dog park, a playground, hopefully if we can raise the money, we’ll have a community center and a spray pad for kids,” she said of the new neighborhood, “and also an open air pavilion for people to gather and have picnics, parties, et cetera.”
Laine Staton is the Vice President of Homeowner Services. She works with those in the program to purchase a home and manage their mortgage.
“That’s the part that gives me goosebumps,” she said, “that we are providing this unique community where people can gather and really have a holistically complete lifestyle.”
Staton works one-on-one with the first home buyer of Weavers Grove, Sparkle Lucas.
“I am so grateful for people like Sparkle who will be pioneering this because not only is she moving into the home, but she’s also going to be the one along with her neighbors that will be responsible for establishing the community,” Staton said.
Lucas is a single mother of two. Her 18 year-old son, Ammar, was born with mild cerebral palsy with developmental delay.
“Being able to have an accessible home for my son who can maneuver through the home without any obstacles is absolutely a dream come true, ” said Lucas.
Before Weavers Grove, finding housing that was affordable and also adhered to her family’s needs was difficult if not impossible. Lucas said her most recent home is a relatively expensive two bedroom apartment.
“It’s not even 1,200 square feet, so it’s very small,” said Lucas. “He can’t use his walker or wheelchair in the home. It does have a handicap assessment bathroom, but it’s not enough space. And so for him to be independent and to be able to do the things he needs to do, he’s confined by a limited amount of space.”
When asked what she’s looking forward to living in her new community at Weavers Grove, she pointed to that change of atmosphere for her child.
“My son has an adaptive tricycle in his three wells and he absolutely loves riding his bike, but we can’t do it now because I don’t have the space,” she said. “The sidewalks aren’t wide enough at the apartment complex and I don’t have the space to sort, so he is going to actually be able to come out with all this space and ride his bike that he can’t ride anymore.”
Lucas’s ending remarks at the celebration expressed gratitude at the life changing impact this project could have.
“What I am most looking forward to is the mental, physical, and emotional stability for me and my family,” she said. “Sitting in my living room listening to all the memories. Thank you for hearing my dreams of owning a home and listening to my story.”
Photo via Weavers Grove Celebration
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