Pair of houses are under construction for Habitat for Humanity on Village Park Drive in Ashland
By Damian Mann for Ashland.news
A rash of break-ins over the past few days resulted in about $5,000 damage at two Ashland low-income houses under construction by Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity.
On Saturday morning, a countertop subcontractor discovered a house under construction on Village Park Drive had been broken into, and snacks for the volunteer workers were eaten.
On Monday night, a second house next door was also broken into, damaging an expensive front door and an electrical box.
“I never thought it was going to happen,” said Brandon Thoms, operations and program director for Habitat for Humanity. “It’s very frustrating.”
No suspects have been arrested, he said. Food and drinks for volunteers who were building the house near North Mountain Avenue in the Beach Creek subdivision were eaten.
Thoms said efforts were made to secure the houses, including locking the doors and closing windows.
“They were locked up as much as your house and my house,” Thoms said.
The first break-in caused about $2,000 in damage, but the second break-in brought the total damages up to the $4,000 to $5,000 range, Thoms said.
A basket filled with snacks for the volunteers was eaten.
“They were hungry for that,” Thoms said.
It appeared that somebody might have been sleeping in the house, he said.
Habitat for Humanity had about a month of finishing work left before two local families could move in.
Despite the setback, Thoms said he expects to finish the houses in a month, though the additional expenses will hurt the organization.
“It’s not going to stop us,” he said. “But when you’re building affordable housing every penny matters.”
Thoms said additional measures are being considered to help secure the two houses from further break-ins.
“We need different solutions if this is our new reality,” he said. “We are going to be extra vigilant.”
Ashland police, who could not be reached for comment, are investigating the incident.
Thoms said there are neighbors around the two houses and they have been made aware of the break-ins.
“The houses abut another subdivision,” he said.
The housing project is on land donated by Laz Ayala, owner of KDA Homes, which is building the adjacent Beach Creek subdivision, off North Mountain Avenue, just north of the railroad tracks.
“To vandalize a nonprofit housing project that is being built for local families in need of housing — I was shocked,” Ayala said. “I was very disappointed to see this, very sad.”
He said this is the first time that he’s had issues with vandalism in the new subdivision, other than having some plants stolen.
The Habitat homes are close to schools, shopping and bus lines on the newly built 10-acre Beach Creek subdivision.
The two houses are being made available to those earning 80% of the area median income and will provided with an interest-free mortgage for 30 years. A deed restriction requires that the homes can only be resold within that period to lower-income households.
Since 1987, Habitat has built 80 homes, but the Ashland project is the first time in the past 20 years for Habitat for Humanity.
The organization relies on volunteers to reduce the cost of building a home and homeowners are expected to put some sweat equity into seeing the construction process.
The Habitat homes were designed to blend in with the surrounding houses in the new subdivision, which is located near North Mountain Park.
Donations can be made by going to roguevalleyhabitat.charityproud.org/Donate.
Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].
