Our New Design Concept

Columbia County Habitat for Humanity has unveiled a new design for its future affordable starter home building projects that will allow it to increase production of safe, affordable homes for the County’s average-wage workers.

Incorporating energy-efficient construction and systems along with a scalable design, Columbia County Habitat will be constructing a variety of homes to meet a diverse range of needs and is currently exploring and discussing potential building sites in several County municipalities.  

The new expandable design concept will provide affordable, efficient, and sustainable housing for local working residents: 3-4 bedroom/2 bath homes and a 2 BR/1 BA home with an accessory rental unit, which will allow a family to own a home that might otherwise be unaffordable, all while providing a much needed additional rental unit in the marketplace.

​“Columbia County Habitat is committed to providing home ownership opportunities for households with incomes between 50 and 75% of Area Median Income (AMI.) This demographic has been shut out of the real estate market in recent years by stagnant incomes, increasing property values, rising taxes and the lack of affordable new starter-home construction,” said Al Bellenchia, CEO and Chief Executive of Columbia County Habitat. 

The new starter home designs include a replicable building model that balances sustainability and cost, and high quality with affordability. Key features will include:

• Efficient Design and Systems: All electric house with an air-source heat pump for heating and cooling and an electric hot water heater. Energy usage is expected to be about 1/3 of the area’s typical comparable home.
• Net Zero Ready: The estimated power usage will allow the homeowner to install a roof-top solar system sufficient to power the entire home. 
  
• Scaled for Rural Builds: Use of an engineered waste disposal system will reduce required lot sizes, promoting clustering and greater density in locations not served by municipal sewer systems.

Columbia County Habitat commissioned Hillsdale-based architect Dimitri Brand and his company Holesum Studio to develop an efficient, scalable, sustainable and affordable concept that could work in a variety of locations found in Columbia County. 

“This design works for infill housing in denser towns, as a one-off house, as a neighborhood, or as a series of houses on an existing road or parcel,” Dimtri Brand said.

Columbia County Habitat anticipates its first building project with this new home design to break ground in the summer of 2024.