Hope and Community Building is published quarterly by Hope Community Builders.Designed and edited by Ken and Deb Layman.

Duplexes Rise on Bethany Court

Phase II duplexes take shape on Bethany Court

Foundations in place for new homes.

The first homes in Phase II are taking shape. According to Duance Bontrager, Senior Building Supervisor, there are 4 complete, with 2 complete pending final inspection, and an additional 2 are occupied. Another 10 unit are under construction, with 4 more building permits in hand. If you or someone you know is looking for a quality, Earthcraft certified home, call us today. Phase II includes 42 homes, 21 of which are available to buyers with incomes of 60% of the median income for this area. An additional 21 homes will be offered to homebuyers with higher incomes and will be sold in the open market. Complete information about Phase II may be found on our website www.hopecommunitybuilders.org. Covenant Heights is located on Rt. 11 S., behind the DMV.

Joppa Court is now complete with paved driveways and beautifully landscaped lots.

Another view of the paved driveways on Joppa Court

This summer all residents on Joppa Court enjoyed the benefits of having their driveways paved. This was a result of a decision made at the Property Owner’s Association in February. The cost of paving was shared with HCB paying half and homeowners paying half. Homeowners have worked hard landscaping this summer, not an easy task during hot and dry weather.

The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA), based in Richmond, VA announced that HCB was one of 70 organizations that provide affordable housing around the state to receive $192 million in low-interest financing. HCB was awarded $1.3 million for its work in building affordable homes in Harrisonburg.

Round 6 of the Authority’s Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communities (SPARC) homeownership program provides below market rate loans for first-time homebuyers through special allocations made to local housing organizations. SPARC funding assists housing groups in addressing critical housing needs facing their communities. Interest rates are ½% to 1% below VHDA’s First-time Homebuyer Programs rates.

HCB also received $115,000 from the Dept. of Housing and Community Development for Closing Costs Assistance and $50,000 for Administrative Assistance.

Talking with Pishdar Mirawdali, you have a definite sense of a family that is grateful for a beautiful new home to call their own. Moving into Covenant Heights on Christmas Day, 2006, the Mirawdali family is thankful to have the freedom of ownership and not having to check with a landlord before changes can be made to their home. They found out about Covenant Heights through friends who bought a home in the neighborhood and the home buying process went very smoothly. Pishdar expresses gratitude to Eric Beck and Duance Bontrager for treating them with utmost respect when working on designing their home and patience with them when making changes to plans. He feels that Eric and Duance did their best to implement the desired changes. The Mirawdalis are very satisfied with their home and enjoy their life on Joppa Court. Pishdar is married to Haleem and they have 4 daughters. Heleem is 3, Zaytoom is 6, Neshua is 7, and Heshu is 9. Their schools age daughters enjoy school life at Pleasant Valley Elementary. Pishdar is a student at Blue Ridge Community College and a contractor for Fairfield Language Technologies. Haleem is a quality inspector at Marshalls. The family appreciates life in Harrisonburg citing stability of the economy, personal freedoms, and diversity in the community as positives of life here. We are glad the Mirawdalis are part of the Covenant Heights community.

Sunday, October 14 brought friends together over ice cream and desserts at Grace Covenant Church. The entire neighborhoods of Southside Heights and Covenant Heights were invited to meet and enjoy food and fun at the picnic/playground area of the church. According to Mike Sounder, Outreach Director of Grace Covendant Church, the ice cream social is a great way for the church to meet its neighbors and for the neighborhood to come together and build relationships. It was an ideal fall day and many enjoyed sweet treats, games for the children and visiting with neighbors. We are pleased to work with Grace Covenant Church to host this event for the neighborhood.

The land for the third and final phase of the Covenant Heights subdivision has been purchased from Grace Covenant Church. The sale closed in January, 2008. Phase III will be composed of 55 building lots and will be comprised of paired homes and town homes. As the plat drawing becomes available for Phase III, it will be published in this newsletter. Look for more details in upcoming issues.

HOPE COMMUNITY BUILDERS is a faith-based housing provider whose purpose is to empower residents of Harrisonburg/ Rockingham County and vicinity, by creating a community of fairness, justice, and hope through the provision of safe, decent and affordable housing. HCB Officers Conard Washington—Pres. Wayne Teel—V.P./Treas. Henry Whitelow – Secretary Asrat Gebre—CEO Staff Duane Bontrager Eric Beck HCB Board Members Don Allen Pat Blakey Sarah Sampson Cephornia Smith
	Hope Community Builders 450 Rockingham Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22802-5315 Phone: 540.433.0152 Email: asrat.gebre@hopecommunitybuilders. New duplexes rise on Joppa Court in the Hope Community Builders’ Covenant Heights subdivision, Rt. 11 South, behind the Division of Motor Vehicles.

A non-profit Community Housing Development Organization