Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Edes Avenue Dedication

December 12th, 2009

The heavy rain showers could not stop Habitat for Humanity East Bay’s largest home dedication on Edes Avenue in the Sobrante Park neighborhood of Oakland. More than 200 people joined the celebration to congratulate the 14 new Habitat homeowners that received the keys to their new homes.

The event celebrated the culmination of thousands of hours of work by Habitat East Bay volunteers, Habitat East Bay partner families and the generosity of government partnerships and community donors.

"It takes an enormous community of people to build a Habitat neighborhood," says Janice Jensen, Habitat East Bay President and CEO. "This development is about 85% complete and already we have logged more than 110,000 hours of time from 9100 volunteers to help in the building process. Simply put, we cannot do our work without community volunteers and resources."

The development, originally a designated Brownfield site, was previously an abandoned auto salvage yard polluted with heavy metals, oil and other harmful toxins. In partnership with the City of Oakland, DTSC, TechLaw Consultants and the EPA, Habitat East Bay remediated the blighted property to build a 54-home sustainable development that utilizes solar panels, drought resistant landscaping and other green construction techniques to reduce material and energy waste. All of these efforts resulted in the first Habitat homes in California to receive the prestigious LEED (Leadership in Environment and Energy Design) Gold designation. When complete the Habitat East Bay’s Edes Avenue development will be the largest Habitat development in the state.

For the families receiving the keys to their new homes, this community celebration marked the a new beginning for their families, and the completion of over 500 hours of volunteer time that they invest in lieu of a financial down-payment. "I believe that Habitat is an organization that really motivates people. When I got to come here and do my sweat-equity hours it motivated me," said Javier Calderon, son of a new Habitat homeowner. "I want to thank Habitat and everyone that came out here today."