Nine Homes in Seven Days

Building nine homes in nine days would be an impressive feat for any housing developer. Hubbell Homes improved on that mark, however, with support from hundreds of Anawim Housing volunteers from throughout Des Moines, and completed the project in 7 days.

Hubbell Realty Company and Hubbell Homes have a long history of being involved in the Des Moines, Iowa community. Located in Des Moines for over 150 years, Hubbell has been a primary catalyst for growth in the metro area. In 2006, Hubbell was selected as the Iowa builder for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and with this experience,
Hubbell developed an expertise for coordinating hundreds of trade partners, subcontractors and volunteers down to the minute. These talents and values made them a perfect partner for Anawim Housing.

Nine homes built in seven days in Des Moines, IA

The mission of Anawim Housing is to provide safe, affordable housing which assists in the stabilization of low-income families and the revitalization of the Des Moines Metropolitan neighborhoods. Several of the families have been with the Anawim family for years and recently graduating to home ownership. Eligible families were targeted to households of 50% median income or below. One new homeowner said "Anawim is a place that is a stepping stone -- a place where families can get their life together, then move on up and give their spot to someone else who needs it more than they do."

This Fall Anawim Housing pursued an ambitious project - organizing the community into building 9 homes in 9 days. Using HUD's Community Development Block Grants, HOME funds, Emergency Shelter grants and a broad combination of other private and public funding sources, Anawim Housing has developed hundreds of affordable rental units. This successful track record of bringing development expertise together with funding and community volunteers has made Anawim Housing an integral part of the Des Moines Metropolitan community.

On September 9th, 2009, an army of builders and volunteers met at the corner of 21st and Forest Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa to begin construction on a nine-plex housing structure. Thanks to a long stretch of good weather, this community project was complete two days early. Immediately upon completion, nine families moved into the new three bedroom homes - families who were struggling financially and wanted a safe and affordable place to call home for their children. These rental homes will be occupied by families with household incomes of $13,000 or less.

Stella Neill, Anawim Executive Housing Director, recently expressed her gratitude to the project's volunteers in an open letter that said: "It is even harder to know how to fully express what the individual and collective generosity
of the many companies and individuals means. To have nine brand new townhomes-built with the highest quality design, materials and building expertise - is a significant, wonderful milestone in supporting affordable housing. I
hope you saw the looks on the faces of the families as they explored their new homes...joy mixed with almost disbelief that their rent payment would provide such a wonderful place to live."

For more information about this community project, go to Nine Homes in Nine Days (http://www.hubbellextreme.com/9homes/).

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