Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley will commemorate the completion of 16 total Habitat townhomes in Columbia Falls during a ceremony at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, 

Construction on the project at 1 and 3 Mitchell Way began in May 2011 and used more than 50,000 hours from nearly 6,000 volunteers, homeowner “sweat equity” and donations from local and national building material suppliers to keep the cost of construction low.

All families for these homes were chosen prior to construction and with the exception of the final two families who will move in at the end of April, all families have occupied their homes. 

Families were required to put in 300 to 500 sweat-equity hours on their homes as well as take a six-week financial counseling course and a first time homebuyer course courtesy of Community Action Partnership. 

The two final families moving into their completed units will attend the ceremony, along with members of Habitat for Humanity’s board of directors and  family selection committee plus several key volunteers and sponsors who make the Habitat dream of homeownership possible. 

Following the brief ceremony, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the completed homes.

Habitat for Humanity’s Columbia Falls affordable housing project is a 16-unit townhome development. Eight units were constructed in part with funding from a $360,000 federal grant, according to local Habitat Executive Director Erin Falcon. 

The grant was received by the city of Columbia Falls through the Montana Department of Commerce HOME Program and managed jointly by the city and Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley.

Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley was established in 1989 with the mission of eliminating substandard housing. The organization has built 44 homes for families to transition out of substandard housing and into safe, decent and affordable homes of their own, Falcon said in a press release.

Habitat selects families and/or individuals based on their need, ability to pay a 30-year, no-interest mortgage and on their willingness to partner with the organization.

Habitat holds build days every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. No building experience is necessary to help out on a build site and Habitat’s professional construction site supervisor is on site to assign tasks and supervise all construction.

For those interested in volunteering, additional information can be found by calling the Habitat for Humanity administrative office at (406) 257-8800.