Habitat for Humanity chooses to rehab

The head of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity says her organization is responding to the foreclosure crisis by rehabbing existing buildings rather than focusing solely on new construction.

President Sue Haigh said the nonprofit is partnering with the city of St. Paul to acquire about a half a dozen buildings on the city's East Side.

"If they are in good enough shape to be rehabbed, we will rehab them to resell to Habitat homeowners. Or if they're in really poor condition, we will tear them down and begin again. As we have been going out looking at the properties, they are a mixture of both," Haigh said.

But Habitat for Humanity is still in the business of developing new homes. The group will celebrate a "wall-raising" today for seven Dale Street townhouses to be built in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood. Habitat completed five such units for low income families on Dale Street last year.

It's a busy week for volunteer home building efforts in St. Paul. A separate Twin Cities group called Rebuilding Together is working with the HGTV network on three revitalization projects on the East Side, including the restoration of a private Victorian home in Dayton's Bluff.

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