St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity has two ARP Projects underway: The Mahaffy Valley Sewer Infrastructure at 1500 E Highland, and the Habitat ARP Education and Storage Center.
The Habitat ARP Education and Storage Center:
St. Joseph Habitat for Humanity is building a new community distribution center. The facility would be used to store construction and other materials, making them more quickly available when needed. There also will be space for educational and other activities.
“We did receive $275,000 through ARPA funding through the county, which we’re extremely grateful for,” said Shay Homeyer, the agency’s executive director. “We look forward to finding more funding options to help us complete the project.”
Homeyer explained hookups for water, engineering, concrete and gas all cost more than initially expected.
“The original bidding for this project took place at the very beginning of the COVID pandemic and because of that we are trying to things are coming in a little higher than expected,” said Tim Osborn, Habitat’s ReStore and Operations director. “So we’re working on that and solutions will be in place.”
Habitat for Humanity leaders saw a need for a community distribution center after flooding hit a South Side neighborhood in 2019.
“As we were gathering donations and trying to find a place to keep these things, we noticed that there was a shortage of places where things could be stored,” Osborn said. “There was a shortage of where they could be distributed, a place for not just us, but for all of the different organizations in St. Joseph to have a central point to get these things to the people who need them most.”
Homeyer and Osborne emphasized the new center would be an asset to the entire community. The distribution center also could allow for more apprentice programs with the Habitat for Humanity construction team.
