Photo Gallery | Habitat for Humanity homes upsize in uptown

Habitat for Humanity homes upsize in uptown

Submitted by Joe Birch, Anchor

Saturday, March 9th, 2013, 8:57pm

Dozens of volunteers hammered nails, toted wallboard and aligned trusses on three homes under construction in sunny North Memphis Friday (full story below).

Habitat for Humanity is building three homes directly across from Humes Junior High School, the first of 50 Habitat homes slated for Uptown in the next two years.

Dozens of volunteers hammered nails, toted wallboard and aligned trusses on three homes under construction in sunny North Memphis Friday (full story below).

Rhonda Willett, a future homeowner, pitched in with volunteers building Habitat for Humanity homes in North Memphis.

Dozens of volunteers hammered nails, toted wallboard and aligned trusses on three homes under construction in sunny North Memphis Friday (full story below).

Volunteers from Memphis and Germantown congregations united with other helpers from local companies at the Habitat Spring Build Kick Off in North Memphis.

Dozens of volunteers hammered nails, toted wallboard and aligned trusses on three homes under construction in sunny North Memphis Friday (full story below).

Retiree Ed Clark worked on the roof of a Habitat homes he's sponsoring in North Memphis.

Dozens of volunteers hammered nails, toted wallboard and aligned trusses on three homes under construction in sunny North Memphis Friday.

Habitat for Humanity kicked off its "Spring Volunteer Build" with three houses simultaneously under construction on North Manassas directly across from Humes Junior High School.

"I will be a first time home owner when this is completed," said future homeowner Rhonda Willett.

These first three homes are the first of fifty Habitat for Humanity plans to build in the Uptown neighborhood over the next two years. Ed Clark, a retired FedEx employee, positioned himself on the roof of the home Ms. Willett will occupy and hammered a truss into place.

"Mr. Clark and his wife Sue are sponsoring construction of this home," said Jessica Hord, spokesperson for Habitat in Memphis.

The agency just celebrated 30 years of building homes in Memphis.

Habitat builds homes in partnership with buyers like Willett. Like all new Habitat homeowners, Willett has proven her ability to repay a zero-interest mortgage and plays an active role in the construction of the new house.

Home buyers like Willett have to meet a number of other non-negotiable requirements, such as attending a 15 weeks of classes where buyers learn basic finance as well as home maintenance training.

The frames of the first three Uptown houses are up but a whole lot more work will go into the new structures which are set to be dedicated on Saturday, May 4, 2013.

The houses sit on a high profile lot across from Humes, where superstar Elvis Presley attended what was then Humes High School. Countless Elvis fans still visit a room in the back of the school filled with mementos of the entertainer. After this school year, Humes will be renamed "Bravo Academy" and will feature the only optional middle school in Memphis for arts integration and arts industry.

The school will reopen under its new name inn fall 2013. You can learn more about Habitat for Humanity here: www.memphishabitat.com