By Roger McKinney
Globe Staff Writer
JOPLIN, Mo. —
Jessica Mason’s 4-year-old son, Jordan, asked his mother where their house was.
“Our house isn’t built, yet,” Mason told her son on Tuesday. “We have to build it.”
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday at 920 E. Furnace St., the future location of their home. It is the Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity’s 31st house since it organized in 1989. The house should be completed around October or November.
“I think that they really have helped me with my dream of becoming a homeowner,” said Mason, 27. She works at Economic Security Corp. She said she rents her current home in a neighborhood that she thinks isn’t ideal — she said she often finds used syringes on the property.
“It was just a danger to me and my son,” she said.
She said she fell within Habitat’s income guidelines and decided to apply. It will be her first time to own a house.
The program requires 200 hours of “sweat equity” from the owners. Mason said she will put in a lot of time, and she also will recruit family members and friends to help. She said she will have a 20-year mortgage.
“I just think this community is really, really awesome in giving back,” she said during the ceremony.
Wells Fargo contributed $35,000 to the project. Last year, the bank contributed $30,000 to a Habitat project at 821 S. Picher Ave., a house built completely by women. That house is expected to be finished by late September.
“I’m extremely proud to work for a bank that gets the giving-back-to-the-community deal,” said Brian Cross, Joplin branch manager for Wells Fargo.
Scott Clayton, Joplin Habitat director, said the house will have three bedrooms and 1,176 square feet. He said he hopes Habitat can build the house for $35,000, though that will depend on the cost of materials and deals the group can wrangle.
Clayton said Habitat projects are good for bringing people together. He said that though it’s not a goal of the Christian organization, Habitat also helps the area economy by providing housing and placing new property on the tax rolls.
Empire builders
Empire District Electric Co. volunteers recently gathered to clear the lot and prepare it for construction, said Empire spokeswoman Julie Maus.
