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BAYPORT - Taha Adem last Thursday kneeled down on the brand-new wood laminate covering his living room floor and wiped away the last bit of sawdust. With that, a wide smile spread across his face.
Adem is the proud homeowner of 386 Maine St. in Bayport, the last home of Andersen Corp.'s 100 Years/100 Homes initiative, which commemorated the company's 100th anniversary by building 100 homes with Habitat for Humanity. On Friday, Andersen representatives officially presented the home to Adem and his family, which includes his wife, Huria Ruzku, daughter Maryen, 2, and son Mubarak, 1. Adem's father will also live at the house.
"I'm happy - me and my family are feeling so good," Adem said. "It makes me so surprised."
The couple moved to Minnesota from Africa, Adem in 1995 and Ruzku following in 2001. They had been living in a North St. Paul apartment, but the two-bedroom dwelling left little space for the family.
He said the 1,6700-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bathroom Bayport home will give his daughter freedom to roam as a 2-year-old should, without disrupting neighbors.
"She's always jumping around," Adem said, laughing.
The family is now getting accustomed to Bayport and has toured Andersen Elementary, where Maryen and Mubarak will attend classes once they reach elementary school age.
"It's very exciting," Adem said.
After moving in, Adem will continue working at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport and Ruzku plans to finish school and become a dental hygienist.
The home was completed in five weeks, with 250 Andersen employees volunteering at the site. Under Habitat for Humanity policy, the adults who will live in the home must also complete 500 hours of "sweat equity," spent working on their home as well as other Habitat projects.
Andersen in 2003 announced the 100 Homes/100 Years plan, starting with five homes in St. Paul. Since then, homes have been constructed in 17 different communities across the U.S. and Canada. The 100 homes included more than 400,000 feet of 2-by-4 lumber, 148,500 shingles (which weigh more than 96 tons), and about 5,000 gallons of paint.
In October, contractor on the PBS show "This Old House" Tom Silva stopped by to help out with the 100th home effort. Nancy Q. Brady, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity vice president of resource development and community relations, said that the work truly defined community.
"We have a tagline, 'Transforming families, neighborhoods and communities one house at a time,' and that is truly what we are doing," she said last month.
Meanwhile, the homeowner had many of the same thoughts.
"We appreciate Andersen and Habitat so much," Adem said.
By ELLIOT MANN
Stillwater Gazette
Monday, November 19 |
