HABITAT HOMES SET TO BE BUILT 3 FAMILIES TO HAVE PLACE TO CALL OWN.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff writer

SIMI VALLEY - With Simi Valley's median home price close to $600,000, Habitat for Humanity volunteers are getting ready to build three homes to sell for a fraction of that cost on 11/2 acres near the city's newest park.

It will be the first time the nonprofit organization has built such a group of houses from the ground up in Simi Valley, where officials have been planning the project for years.

The homes should cost about $100,000 for the owners, who help build them and make payments monthly to cover their mortgages, property taxes and homeowners insurance, said Karen Jensen, Habitat for Humanity program manager for Ventura County.

Money from the mortgages will go into the Ventura County group's Fund for Humanity to support other home-building projects, Jensen said.

The site for the new homes is south of Royal Avenue at Sequoia Avenue along the Arroyo Simi across from the new Vista del Arroyo Park.

Habitat officials hope to soon acquire the land from the city, which is buying it from the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. City officials said they plan to offer Habitat a loan from redevelopment money.

Colleen Janssen, a spokeswoman for the park district, said the location is perfect.

"The great part is that it's near a really fabulous brand new park we just opened. ... It's a small lot that wasn't really suitable for a park. This works better for the community."

If all goes well, Habitat could start the process of selecting families in May and have the homes built by early next year.

Jensen said some of the main sponsors funding the project are the Simi Valley Moorpark Association of Realtors, Starbucks Coffee, Card Service International and the Conejo Valley Interfaith Group, which is made up of area religious groups.

"It costs us about $100,000 to build each house," Jensen said. "We need sponsorships for each house prior to building it."

It takes anywhere from three to six months to select the families, and they will be required to put in 500 hours of work building their homes and others, a Habitat for Humanity tradition that helps produce a sense of community, Jensen said.

She said families applying to buy and help build the homes need to have incomes of 30 percent to 50 percent of the medium income in Ventura County, which is about $77,000. They need to currently live in substandard housing in Simi Valley.

City Councilman Glen Becerra said the homes will be built to the highest standards.

"After all the years of planning, it will be good to see the groundbreaking for a project of this importance," he said. "... It will help these three families become part of the American dream. It's a great way for a community to show a commitment and compassion."

Barbara Witman, who lives near the site, has been volunteering with Habitat for 17 years and said she is glad to see a project in her own neighborhood.

"I hope it will inspire others to get involved and encourage building other houses in Simi Valley," she said. "All kinds of things change for people when there is a secure place to call home. They are healthier, their children go farther in school, they go farther in their jobs."

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(color) Habitat for Humanity's Karen Jensen makes her way through trees that grow on the lot at the corner of Sequoia and Royal avenues. Habitat for Humanity is hoping to start work later this year on three homes on the site.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer