Quality trumps speed

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Construction on the city’s largest low-income housing project is running months behind schedule, and fundraising for a new planned development has been a struggle, but that didn’t discourage volunteers from chipping away at the effort Saturday.

The 11-unit development under construction at 711 N. Kenwood St. is the city’s sixth project spearheaded by the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity nonprofit affiliate and was expected to be completed in January. Progress has been delayed, however, because of project changes to accommodate residents with disabilities, said Amy Borton, the affiliate’s ecumenical outreach coordinator and one of the volunteers Saturday.

Habitat for Humanity now expects to finish the project in March, Borton said.

“Unfortunately, it has been slowed down a little bit,” she said.

But the delays, which were necessary to incorporate wheelchair access for some units, have allowed the organization to avoid scrimping on workmanship while trying to meet its prior January target, she said.

San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, which will have developed 29 housing units in the city upon the Kenwood property’s completion, has also had trouble with its fundraising for a seventh Glendale project it hopes to begin building in October, said Damien Allen, the affiliate’s director of corporate and community sponsorships.

The organization must raise $910,000 for the five-unit project on the 600 block of Geneva Street and needs $400,000 to start construction in October, according to Habitat for Humanity.

The recession has made fundraising for the new project difficult, but volunteer contributions to build the Kenwood development have not lagged during the down economy, organizers said.

“You’re working with people that want to be here,” Allen said.

Volunteers on Saturday were applying paint and caulk to the property, which is nearly 80% complete, organizers said.

“To be involved in building houses for families, there’s nothing like it,” said Nahid Ansari, a volunteer from the Islamic Congregation of La Cañada Flintridge, who was helping to paint the property.

Volunteers from “LA 20s,” a group from the online community meetup.com, joined others from Disney’s “voluntears” group and members of the community to work on the project.

“I enjoy it,” said Glendale resident Bill Weber, who has volunteered at the site for the last two years, sometimes multiple times a week.

Weber has worked on the property since its beginning, helping first with framing and now on electrical systems, he said.

Watching the building develop to near completion was impressive, he said.

“It’s kind of amazing,” he said.

When finished, the building will offer 11 two-story condominiums to families currently living in cramped conditions in Glendale.

Each will pay $150,000 and will contribute 500 hours of labor toward building the development.