Saturday’s Walls Go Up in a Parking Lot. They Are Bound for Rutherford County’s 216th Habitat Home.
On Saturday morning, the parking lot outside the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce on Medical Center Parkway will sound like a job site. By mid-afternoon it will look like one, too — rows of freshly framed walls, stacked and waiting for a truck. Those walls are headed for a lot where they will become the 216th house Rutherford County Area Habitat for Humanity has built in this county.
The event is Habitat's 11th annual Build It Forward Panel Build, and it runs Saturday, September 26, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 3050 Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro. The finished home will belong to a local woman and her family.
Why build walls in a parking lot?
A panel build is one of the cleverer ideas in affordable housing. Instead of asking dozens of volunteers to show up on a narrow residential lot, Habitat brings the lumber, nail guns and sawhorses to a big, open, easy-to-find space. Teams frame the exterior and interior wall sections there, in a single day, and the panels are then moved to the building site and raised. It lets a company or congregation put a whole crew to work at once, and it gives a house a fast, visible head start.
This year's build is sponsored by Huffaker & Hoke Realty Partners, Middle Tennessee Electric and First Mortgage. Volunteer crews on site will include teams from Huffaker & Hoke, First Mortgage, SIMS Lifecycle Services and Southern Luxury Mobilized Restrooms. The realty firm's leadership described the partnership as a way for local people to put Habitat's mission into action directly, working side by side with families to build stability and ownership.
Thirty years, 216 houses
The number on this one is worth pausing on. Rutherford County Area Habitat for Humanity has been building here for more than 30 years, and in that time it has built more than 200 homes for local families in a county where housing costs have climbed with every new wave of arrivals. Its recent build calendar shows how many hands that takes: panel builds hosted by churches, Rotary, and a Nissan-sponsored build for the organization's 200th local house.
The model depends on the community at every step. Habitat relies on local donations, volunteer labor, donated materials and business partnerships. Its ReStore, which resells donated furniture, building materials and household goods, helps fund the work and offers free pickup of donated items. The organization also points prospective homeowners to a year-long series of “Get Ready” classes, sponsored by the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties, that cover the skills and preparation needed to buy a first home through Habitat or other first-time buyer programs.
How to help
Saturday's crews are already assigned, but there are plenty of ways in. Businesses, churches and civic groups can sponsor or staff a future build, individuals can volunteer on job sites, and anyone can donate to or shop the ReStore. For volunteer opportunities or information on local housing projects, contact Development Director Leslie Lambert at 615-890-5877.
Looking for more ways to give back this fall? Our guide to the best of October in Rutherford County includes several community events worth your Saturday, and the Moving to Murfreesboro guide covers the neighborhoods where so much of this county's growth is happening.
