Construction of Lakewood’s First Habitat Home Gets Under Way

Construction has begun on an energy-efficient, 1600-square-feet .

The foundation of the arts-and-crafts-style bungalow at — the same address of a home deemed a “persistent blight” and — was set last week.

Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity will oversee the construction of the four-bedroom, 1600-square-feet home.

But this isn’t your mother’s Habitat for Humanity.

The home will use 50 percent less energy than its Birdtown neighbors, and the architectural style is aimed at “blending in” with the neighborhood.

The construction crew will fill in the rest of the area around the foundation on Monday, and the rafter will be up by the end of the week, said Habitat site manager Paul Lentini.

The home will be move-in ready by March, he added.

“Once we get the outside wrapped up, we’ll be able to move in and finish the interior,” Lentini said. “It’s as on-schedule as it can run. We really lucked out with this weather.”

The city — which owned the land — had a with the property. 

As part of its program to around the city, officials had hoped to get a bid for less than the $200,000 federal Neighborhood Stabilization grant awarded to pay for the construction of a new home.

But the lone bid on the project wasn’t even close to the city’s projections. 

The bid came in at $275,000 — or $175 per square foot. The city had targeted $119 per square foot.

Second Habitat home construction to begin soon

There’s another Habitat home set for construction this summer.

That project, at 1549 Lakewood Avenue, the site of a former apartment complex deemed a “nuisance” by the city and , will begin within the next couple weeks.

The project on Lakewood Avenue — the land originally considered for a new pocket park — is expected to have a similar design.

Among the few differences, the Lakewood Avenue home would have a wrap-around porch and a larger lot.