Blitz Build ends, more work ahead
Published 1:59 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
SNOQUALMIE – The hand-lettered sign on the front of Dim and Katharine Warmerdam’s house advised, “Please remove shoes before entering. Thank you.”
Orphaned pairs of shoes were strewn about the front entrance to the house. Through its windows, one could see people touring the upstairs and downstairs, which will soon be filled with the sound of children playing.
Saturday was a special day for 20 families who are part of Habitat for Humanity of East King County’s massive blitz build in Snoqualmie. One by one, their houses were dedicated. After each 15-minute ceremony, volunteers and family members stood side by side, sometimes hugging, sometimes crying, as they were photographed in front of the house they had labored for two weeks to erect.
As he walked from house to house, Habitat for Humanity of East King County Executive Director David McDaniels seemed to be in awe of what he helped create. When asked what he thought of the past 12 days of sawing and hammering, he said, “To get to this point, it’s just …,” and then his voice trailed off, unable to articulate the proper adjective.
He would later call that day “one of the most pleasurable and one of the most happy days that anyone could have.”
Others resorted to superlatives to describe the largest construction project ever conducted by Habitat in the Pacific Northwest.
“This site is amazing,” said Snoqualmie City Councilman Frank Lonergan, who volunteered his muscle on a Habitat house sponsored by the city.
Amazing, it was. More than 3,300 volunteers – nearly the population of the city of Snoqualmie – lent their time and talents to the blitz build over the course of two weeks. Two houses – each constructed by home-building companies – were completed by the end of the blitz on Saturday.
Tom Donnelly, project manager for the blitz build, said three or four houses were 90 percent finished, while the remaining houses wrap up soon. Roofing material for all the houses arrives this week.
The outpouring of support both locally and across America was strong enough for Habitat to start construction on a 21st house, as well on a community center, which will serve as a focal point for the new neighborhood.
But the blitz build is only a beginning. Over the next five years, 29 new houses will be raised at the Snoqualmie site for a total of 50.
And that means McDaniels will have many more happy days ahead of him.
At a dedication for ceremony for the Duquette family, just before he presented the family with a Bible, McDaniels said Habitat’s goal is not to simply build houses. Instead, the organization is trying construct something less concrete.
“We’re building not just a house in the Snoqualmie Valley. We’re building a whole neighborhood and community,” he said.
But communities such as the Habitat site in Snoqualmie are becoming increasingly harder to find on the Eastside. The Valley has become home to more affluent families, with many of them moving into the Snoqualmie Ridge development. Some houses there have sold for more than $1 million.
Bob Cokewell of North Bend, who helped spur the Free and Accepted Masons of Washington into sponsoring Kevin and Tamara Franklin’s house, said Habitat’s quality, low-cost housing will benefit the entire area.
“We recognized … how important this project would be to our community,” he said on Sunday, explaining how the Masons became involved with the blitz build.
The project has demanded a lot of work from not only Habitat officials and the volunteer committees organized to coordinate the blitz, but the city of Snoqualmie, as well. The City Council waived fees for the site, and building inspectors juggled their schedules so they could be on hand during the two-week blitz – even on weekends.
“I’m not sure we knew what we were asking for when we said we needed affordable housing,” acknowledged Snoqualmie Mayor Fuzzy Fletcher, but he credited council members and city staff for helping ensure the blitz build was a success.
The houses were no easy task, either. Unlike row houses or townhouses, the dwellings at the Snoqualmie site vary in shape. Paint schemes and rooflines are different, as are layouts inside the house. Never mind that the logistics necessary to stage such a huge project were daunting.
“There has never been a blitz build as difficult in all of Habitat … These were tough houses to build with volunteers,” McDaniels said.
To qualify for a Habitat house, families must complete a lengthy application process. They should earn 25 to 50 percent of the county median income, which is more than $60,000. They must also demonstrate a need for housing. And they must be willing to put forth 500 hours of “sweat-equity” work.
“Sweat” was the operative word during the first week of the blitz build. With temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, water was distributed freely to volunteers. Despite the heat, work continued at a frenzied pace, and volunteers welcomed the following week’s cooler weather.
Some likened the blitz to a more rustic period of America’s past.
“It’s the closest thing to a 19th Century barn-raising that you’re ever going to see,” said Bill Bush of Centex Homes, which sponsored the Warmerdam’s house.
In front of his new house, homeowner Dan Duquette said on Saturday the sense of closeness he felt with the volunteers was something he will cherish.
“It was really incredible to me to see the spirit of all these people who came to help,” he said.
Tamara Franklin tried not to cry Sunday as she thanked the Masons who contributed money toward and helped build her house.
“Our home is an embodiment of love … You have all performed a tremendous act of love for us,” she said.
* If you would like to help out at the Snoqualmie site or on other Habitat for Humanity of East King County projects, call the office in Redmond at (425) 869-6007.
