Families receive keys to their blitz-built homes in Suffolk

SUFFOLK

For a community built in less than a week, Huntersville Place looked mighty spiffy.

American flags waved from the fronts of the new houses. Flower boxes adorned porch rails. Freshly planted shrubs and other blooms decorated lawns.

The only blemish: squares of sod scorched by the blazing sun. But no one seemed to mind.

On Saturday - five days after builders and other volunteers descended on a section of north Suffolk - all 16 homes were complete. It was time to celebrate Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads' second home-building blitz.

"Is this not magnificent?" Tom Gipson said during a dedication ceremony.

The North Carolina home builder dreamed up the idea of the Home Builders Blitz six years ago and has watched it grow into a national effort. This week, Gipson said, he has visited seven blitz-build sites.

"Not only is this the biggest, this is the best," he told a cheering crowd in Suffolk.

Leroy Bennett, the City Council's Nansemond borough representative, lauded the positive effects that the Habitat project has had on the area at large. Huntersville Place, Habitat's moniker for its development, is an extension of Huntersville, a neighborhood that's experiencing a comeback after years of crime and dilapidated housing.

Family by family, the new Habitat homeowners were called to the stage.

Jason Aponte lifted a large honorary key - spray-painted gold and signed by their home's builders - as his wife, Nicole, thanked those who helped. Overall, more than 32,500 volunteer hours were required to complete the blitz.

Afterward, the Apontes walked across the street to their house to cool down and welcome visitors. Their three young boys ran throughout the one-story, four-bedroom home, laughing and playing with balloons. A friend dropped by with some decorative bird and squirrel feeders.

Nicole Aponte pointed out her beige-speckled linoleum, cream-colored walls and dark-beige carpet. Then, the two large bathrooms and the walk-in closet.

"It's a dream come true," she said. "Most definitely."

A desk, a computer, books and learning games fill the dining room of the three-bedroom duplex the Apontes currently rent. Now, the stay-at-home mother will have a separate room to home-school her boys and work with her 5-year-old son, who is autistic.

They're moving in by the end of June, after the builders do their final walk-throughs.

The Apontes said they've tried to buy a home for years but something always stood in their way. They were able to make it happen through Habitat, which provides qualified low-income families with homes at cost and a no-interest mortgage. In exchange, they volunteered 300 hours of their time.

"I've cried like every day... especially after yesterday, after it was complete and the American flag was waving," Nicole Aponte said. "It was like the American dream."

Hattie Brown Garrow, (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com