Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity broke ground June 6 for its new subdivision off East Martin Luther King Drive in Bryan, in the 900 block.  The new subdivision – known as Faith – will house 24 new, energy-efficient homes. Construction on the first home is scheduled to begin in August 2012, and all homes should be completed by June 2014.

KBTX anchor Michael Oder emceed the groundbreaking ceremony.  Bryan Mayor Jason Bienski addressed the crowd of Habitat supporters, future Habitat homeowners, local officials and media.  He was joined by Habitat’s board president, Mitch Morehead, executive director, Marco Maina, and future homeowner, Melanie Benford.

Melanie Benford told the crowd how she grew up in the area but moved away as a child because it was too dangerous.  But now the working mother of three plans to be one of the first to move into the new Faith Subdivision.  She wants to be part of its transformation.  The neighborhood isn’t very good right now.  But with Habitat’s help, Melanie is not only going to build a clean, decent home for her young family, she’s going to build a safe community for her children and her neighbors.

Thanks to grants from The Meadows Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International, along with a generous donation from board member Denise Bermudez, the funding is now in place to begin installing the necessary infrastructure.