Once again, the Story County Habitat for Humanity is breaking new ground.

In a partnership with the Iowa State Homecoming Committee, the College of Engineering’s Year of Technology Recognition Program, the Emergency Residence Project and the Story County Habitat for Humanity, a second blitz-build will take place during this year’s Homecoming week.

But this time, the project is going to be much larger than a house.

Beginning Oct. 25, work will start on a new four-plex located on South Kellogg Avenue, which will be built in five days.

The Partnership for Affordable Transitional Housing (PATH) has become the designated title of the project. It will create four new three-bedroom apartments for families seeking transitional housing.

In a transitional housing situation, families will be able to stay in the apartments for up to six months, said Amie Carey, co-chairwoman of the Homecoming Committee.

“The only stipulation is that they have to be families with children,” said Carey, junior in zoology.

The complex, designed by John Lott, architect and president of Story County Habitat for Humanity, is going to cost up to $190,000.

“We’re going to take over that end of town when this happens,” Lott said.

Last week, the Homecoming Committee set up tables on campus to begin the fund-raising process. “Buy a House for a Buck” raised almost $2,000 for the project, Carey said.

However, that’s just a small sum in comparison to what the group actually hopes to raise — $80,000 to $90,000.

“That’s the ideal — we’ll see how much we can do and go from there,” Carey said.

This goal might seem like a lofty one since it’s double what the group raised last year. But organizers aren’t dissuaded.

“We’re doing this project no matter what,” she said.

Elin Herrman, public relations coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, said the other half of the total sum already has been raised.

“The Emergency Residence Project got an $85,000 bequest from the estate of an anonymous donor,” she said.

This sum helped the four groups develop the idea to blitz-build the complex.

“Habitat is providing the organizational expertise and getting it to happen,” Lott said.

Many volunteers also will be needed to help out with the project, he said.

“This whole idea is one that’s going to take a lot of people to organize — there’s just as many hours spent on planning as there are spent swinging a hammer,” Lott said.

Unlike last year, there will be a sign-up for students who want to volunteer. Community response was so overwhelming last year that people were turned away.

Lott said the groups also are looking for more people to supervise work crews. This way, a supervisor could take five or six untrained people and teach them how to frame a door or window, he said.

“Those are the challenges ahead of us and between now and September, we’ve got to meet those challenges,” Lott said. “These are real people. They’ve got basic needs, and what we’re trying to do is provide basic housing.

“We’re taking a big risk to make this happen, but we have faith that it can,” he said.