Sod yards and attached garages rarely appear on Habitat for Humanity homes, but the Habitat Homes at Watertower Place will bear each of these upper-middle class additions.

After receiving a donation of land from the City of Ames, Habitat for Humanity of Story County submitted design proposals to the City Council for the three homes they planned to build, said Anjeanette Perkins, executive director of Story County Habitat for Humanity.

The City Council reviewed the designs, and asked that Habitat add a garage and sod yard to the homes instead of seeding the lawn as the group usually does.

Perkins said the addition “set us back about $10,000. But we’ve never received a donation of land from the city before.”

The lots, at the corner of Hoover Avenue and 24th Street, were donated to the Story County Community Land Trust by the City of Ames. One home will be financed through the Story County Community Land Trust, which provides low-cost housing.

Its clientele, Perkins said, usually have a higher income than those who buy Habitat homes.

The two remaining homes will be financed through Habitat for Humanity, which is working in conjunction with the Story County Community Land Trust to construct the homes.

When the city donated the land last year, several homeowners in the Watertower neighborhood questioned whether Habitat for Humanity houses would lower property values.

During the Oct. 23, 2001, meeting of the Ames City Council, Donna Wobig, who lives on Hoover Avenue, told city officials that she and her neighbors “did not want homes constructed in their neighborhood that would negatively affect the value of their homes.”

Wobig also said that she would rather see variation in style of the homes than have sod put in the yard, according to the council minutes.

Perkins said an independent market appraiser valued the house and land of one of the Habitat homes at $139,000, which falls close to the average neighborhood home value of $140,000 to $170,000.

“When the idea came up [to build the homes on that site], it was a major change for the neighborhood,” Perkins said. “That land had been empty for a long time, and it was almost like they had their own park.”

Perkins said Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco and City Council members toured the homes on Monday, and they “had nice things to say about the project.”

Perkins also said one of the common misconceptions about Habitat for Humanity homes is that they are given away at no charge.

“We can sell them cheaper because of volunteer labor,” Perkins said. Home buyers still have to pay for building costs, however.

Two of the houses are finished, and a family moved into a Habitat house last week.

The Story County Community Land Trust house is still looking for a buyer.

The third house of the trio will be finished this week during the Homecoming Blitz Build.