First Home in Devonshire
Neighborhood Dedicated For New Homeowner by Volunteers and Sponsors
Lowe's
provided $50,000 grant to build first home in Austin Habitat for Humanity's Devonshire Village
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What: First Devonshire Village Habitat Home Dedication
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, October 19
Where: 6111 Devonshire Cove, Austin, 78723
(at end of Devonshire Drive. For map click Here)
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AUSTIN, TX - New Habitat
homeowners, volunteer construction crews and Habitat staff and sponsors
dedicated the first home in Austin Habitat for Humanity's largest subdivision
to date, the new Devonshire Village in East Austin.
Construction on the new energy-efficient home for Tobbie
Carter began in early August with a three day Devonshire Blitz Build. Over the
course of 10 weeks, more than 200 volunteers, including Lowe's employees and
students from the University of Texas Chapter of Austin Habitat for Humanity, have
raised their hammers to help build this home.
Carter worked alongside these volunteers and earned her dream of
homeownership by contributing over 400 hours of "sweat equity" and completing
extensive homeowner education as part of the Austin Habitat program.
Lowe's,
a national partner with Habitat for Humanity since 2003, provided Austin Habitat for Humanity a $50,000
grant to sponsor this home. This home on Devonshire Cove will add to the more
than 200 Habitat homes built by Austin Habitat for Humanity in 22 years.
"Lowe's
ongoing commitment to Habitat allows my colleagues and me to experience
first-hand the impact Habitat makes on people's lives every day," said Dan
Clarke, district manager of Lowe's. "The Lowe's volunteers who raised
their hammers and offered their construction know-how alongside these dedicated
volunteers found the investment of their time and energy building this house to
be every bit as rewarding as the knowledge that the grant Lowe's provided
helped make the Carter home possible."
Homes built in Devonshire Village
are equipped with many more eco-friendly features than previous Habitat homes,
benefiting the entire Austin
community by reducing the need for new power plants, water treatment, and
landfill space and making the homes more affordable by reducing energy and
water costs of Habitat homeowners. Some of the features include:
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Stained
concrete floors that don't release volatile organic compounds into the air or
hold in dust and allergens, like carpet can
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Sprinkler
systems to prevent fires from spreading
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Bathroom
exhaust fans attached to a dehumidistat, removing the right amount of moisture
from the air automatically
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Paint
that releases fewer volatile organic compounds than normal paint
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Stud
walls prebuilt to reduce waste to half trash can per house
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Window
glass with a solar heat gain coefficient below .30 to keep out the sun's heat
·
Central
manifold plumbing system with stable plastic tubing running directly to each
fixture
Devonshire Village
is located in the neighborhoods of University Hills and Windsor
Park in northeast Austin and will provide 43 home sites for
low-income families.
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About
Austin Habitat for Humanity
Austin Habitat for Humanity has served
the Austin
community since 1985, creating more than 200 affordable new homes with
low-income families. Homes are created with volunteer labor and community
funding, then sold to AHFH HomeBuyers with zero-interest mortgage loans. Each HomeBuyer participates in financial education
programs and contributes some 400 hours of "sweat-equity". For more information,
visit www.austinhabitat.org.
About Lowe's
Lowe's is a proud
supporter of Habitat for Humanity International, American Red Cross, United Way of America,
and the Home Safety Council, in addition to numerous non-profit organizations
and programs that help communities across the country. In 2007, Lowe's
and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation together contributed more
than $27.5 million to support community and education projects in the United
States and Canada. Lowe's also encourages volunteerism through the Lowe's
Heroes program, a company-wide employee volunteer initiative. Lowe's is a
FORTUNE® 50 company with fiscal year 2007 sales of $48.3 billion and has more
than 1,575 stores in the United States and Canada. For more information,
visit Lowes.com/community.
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AHFH Contact:
Michael Kellerman
Dir External Relations
and Development
mkellerman@ahfh.org
512.472.8788 | ext 408
512.799.0929 cell
Lowe's Contact:
Maureen Rich
Maureen.A.Rich@lowes.com
704.758.2298
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