Habitat for Humanity turns keys over to another grateful family in Lakewood Saturday

LAKEWOOD, Ohio - The Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity has completed construction for only the second time on a home outside of the city of Cleveland. The new, single family home is on Dowd Avenue in the historic Birdtown neighborhood of Lakewood.

The newly constructed home will sit on the site of the former Lakewood Day Nursery which was demolished by the City of Lakewood in 2010 after sitting vacant for many years. The city transferred the lot to Habitat for Humanity last summer and provided funding the project through its HOME Investment Partnership Program. 

The majority of construction on the home was completed by volunteers. The Stuart-Galvin family will assume ownership of the property from Habitat now that construction is complete.

"We want to thank Habitat for Humanity for partnering with us on this wonderful project," said Mayor Mike Summers. "This is another example of our Housing Initiative at work. A property that was beyond repair and an eyesore to the neighborhood has been replaced by a beautiful, new home and new neighbors."

Additional partners included Moen, Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Greater Cleveland and First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Lakewood. Moen supplied the majority of the volunteer workers needed to complete this project. First Federal of Lakewood assisted with construction financing and NHS provided homeowner education and financial training to the family.

Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity started in Georgia with a mission to eliminate poverty housing across the globe. Today, Habitat is one of the largest home builders in the world, operating in over 100 countries.

Cleveland Habitat has completed over 160 homes since 1988. Today, The Cleveland Habitat engages 2,000 volunteers, who provide over 70,000 hours of service per year, according to the group.