Habitat For Humanity Goes Multi-family

"Habitat for Humanity housing projects usually start from the ground up. But with land prices in Frederick County, Maryland, increasing and affordable housing decreasing, the nonprofit is now starting their efforts from the inside out.

In December, the City of Frederick turned over the deeds to three houses on West Seventh Street that the county's Habitat for Humanity plans on turning into a townhouse and two attached condominium units.

'This will be our first condominium project, but we need to keep our eyes open for opportunities to get the most bang for our buck, especially in the city,' said David Ozag, the organization's executive director. 'For years, our mindset has been a single-family house in the country with a yard, but then you see something like this and it can also be a reality for us.' "

The organization's affiliate in Sarasota, Florida has also begun to look at multi-family housing opportunities, following in the footsteps of chapters in New York and San Francisco.