FOX CROSSING (NBC 26) — An empty stretch of land in Fox Crossing is set to become a 56-home neighborhood that Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity says will combine market-rate housing with affordable paths to homeownership.
The development, called Horizon Crossing, will be Habitat's largest single-site project in the Fox Cities and its first subdivision-level development.
"This is our first opportunity to do something at this scale," Habitat President and CEO John Weyenberg said.
Horizon Crossing will be located south of U.S. Highway 10 between Clayton Avenue and Irish Road. Plans call for 39 market-rate homes constructed by Tom McHugh Construction and 17 Habitat homes.
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Those 17 homes will be available through Habitat's Homebuyer Program, which offers qualified buyers zero-interest mortgages with income-based repayment. Habitat said about half of the families for those homes have already been selected.
"The reason for starting this, was we have traditionally been building one home in vacant lots across our community," Weyenberg said.
With demand for housing growing and available land becoming more difficult to find, Weyenberg said the organization is looking beyond its traditional model of building individual homes on scattered lots and toward larger developments.
Habitat said its homeowners also complete homeownership education, volunteer in the community and go through an application process before securing a mortgage.
The organization estimates four to five people will live in each household and that the development will eventually serve about 300 people.
The project is being developed alongside Tom McHugh Construction and is backed by major sponsors such as Community First Credit Union and local philanthropist Mary Beth Nienhaus.
"It is a very significant day and it was a joyful day, we've been working on this project for a very long time," Community First Credit Union President and CEO Catherine Tierney said about Thursday's groundbreaking.
Two of the development's main streets will recognize its sponsors, with the roads named Nienhaus Way and Meraki Way. Tierney said "meraki" is a Greek word meaning to leave something of yourself in the work you do.
Horizon Crossing is designed as a mixed-income neighborhood, putting Habitat homeowners and market-rate homeowners within the same development. The neighborhood will also offer access to Highway 10, nearby parks and surrounding neighborhoods.
"It's a place I think just about anyone would want to live," Tierney said.
According to the project's timeline, the 39 market-rate homes are expected to be completed in 2027, followed by the 17 Habitat homes in 2028.
While Horizon Crossing is Habitat's first subdivision in the area, Weyenberg said it isn't expected to be the last. The organization is already working on several similar neighborhood projects for the years ahead.
