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Our History
Mesilla Valley Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1987. Our first
five sites were already owned by our homeowners because we
simply did not have funds to buy land.
In 1991 we started receiving federal funds through the City of Las
Cruces to buy vacant lots
that were scattered throughout the older sections of yjr City.
For several years we built
one or two houses at a time. Since 1995 we have built
in larger groups: seven homes on Organ Street , four homes on California
St., four homes on Durazno/Montana, and six homes at
Elder/Willow and Ash Streets..
All of these homes were in the southeast or northeast part of the
city. Four homes on Madero St. were the first in the city west of Main
Street. Thus it seemed logical to next consider the vacant areas around
Palmer St. west of the railroad tracks.
The idea of a small Habitat subdivision in partnership with the City
and several private contractors was born. Pueblitos de Las Cruces
with planned landscaping, drainage
, street lighting and special architectural details for the eight
Habitat homes among the total of 15 was finished in 2002.
Since then: We have built three homes on Fifth Street, six on Palmer
Road, four on 6th St. and four on 2nd St.. We also built 3 homes
on Pinon St. close to our Office on Santa Fe St. By the end of
2007 we had completed 67 homes in our 20 years.
Next to our Office we also built a minimal five unit park for
our RV visitors (Care-A-Vanners) that come help us each building season.
In June 2007 we opened up a ReStore
as a supplemental source of funds for our affiliate's activity. A ReStore
is a store specializing in new and gently used construction materials
and home furnishings. In less than 6 months all the start-up costs
were repaid and profits began to go into the construction program.
The 2007/2008 Build year is a rebuilding year as we hire new staff,
begin a more coordinated resource development effort and try to find
more vacant land on which to build. Almost no vacant lots are
available anymore in the inner city. We have had to go to the East
Mesa, building 2 homes this year for families that are living in
substandard trailers on their own land. Some land is also being
made available to us this fall by the City in a new subdivision on
the East Mesa.
Check out our current build sites. Current Build!
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