Habitat set to construct first home in Kensington

KENSINGTON - It's said real estate is about three things - location, location, location.
Habitat for Humanity P.E.I. already has that aspect figured out for its first Kensington build. Now it just needs a family to move in and make it a home.
The provincial government handed over a land deed Thursday for what will be the site of Kensington's Habitat build.
"We were lucky enough to receive the land from the Province and it's just fantastic," said Ken Ramsay, the project's leader for Kensington. "It was an older building that had to be torn down and the land was just sitting there. Now we're going to make good use of it."
The build will take place on a 50-by-200-foot lot located at 71 Broadway Street, but the organization will have to sort through a field of applicants first.
For now, this is the only Habitat project slated for Kensington, but that doesn't mean more are not on the horizon.
"Typically, in any community across P.E.I., the need is great for affordable accommodations, so Kensington would be much like any other community," said Jim Carragher, board chair of Habitat for Humanity P.E.I. "It takes so much today to keep a house operating."
The successful applicant is still obligated to pay a mortgage on the home, but with a zero per cent interest rate and no down payment.
The family will also put in 500 hours of volunteer time at the site.
"It's about empowering a family and a community to come together to help build that community," said Carragher. "The neat thing about this model is that every mortgage payment that gets paid back to Habitat, all of that money goes into building the next home. It's about affordable housing paying for more affordable housing."
Ramsay said his build committee is ready to go as soon as a family is chosen for the Kensington site.
Anyone from the area interested in applying can visit www.habitatpei.ca.

sbrun@journalpioneer.com