HOT SPRINGS -- Garland County Habitat for Humanity is asking for land donations so it can continue its mission to provide homes for families in need in the community.
Executive Director Cindy Wagstaff said Habitat for Humanity will break ground in the next couple of months "on our last two pieces of property," and is asking for the public's help in locating new tracts of land.
Over the past 25 years, Habitat for Humanity has built 147 houses and is currently working on five more, Wagstaff said, noting she expects to have the 150th house finished before the end of the year.
"We try to keep about two to three years of property in inventory," she said, "but it's dwindled over the last two years." She said they "usually get around four properties a year."
Wagstaff said donating land to Habitat for Humanity is tax-deductible and if the land is owned by people who aren't using it, donating it can take the stress off the owner who no longer has to take care of the vacant property.
Vacant lots can cost a lot of time and money to maintain, and when Habitat takes over those lots, she said, "it's kind of a relief" to the owner. While the group is looking for vacant lots without structures on them, she noted the group has in the past worked with owners of properties that have had structures.
Wagstaff said there have been multiple cases with an abandoned structure where the "city ends up having to demolish it," but if the owner is willing to donate the land, then the "city is willing to consider waiving the demolition cost." Wagstaff said this "can be a huge relief to the family."
Over the past few years, Habitat for Humanity has looked at several pieces of property, but for various reasons those tracts fell through, she said, noting, "Lately we've looked at several properties [with] clouded titles, not clear titles [with] multiple people" who own it.
Wagstaff said most of the homes they have built have been in Hot Springs so the family that moves in will "have access to what they need," such as grocery stores and schools. However, Wagstaff noted "we definitely would" be interested in land outside Hot Springs.
"We'd really like to build [near] Lakeside and Lake Hamilton for families in those districts," she said.
Not all land can be used for the houses. Wagstaff said that because of home regulations, a piece of land needs to be at least 50 feet wide to allow for all the setbacks required for these homes. "We do need about a 50-foot wide property," she said.
While these homes help families in need, Wagstaff said the families are not given the homes and must put in the work for the house via sweat equity. Not only do the houses help the families, they help the neighborhoods they are built in, she said.
Wagstaff said a neighborhood that gets one of these houses will often see other houses in the area start getting fixed up.
"It's funny. All of a sudden we see houses getting painted, getting a new roof," she said. "It spreads through the whole neighborhood."