Habitat Wall Raising in Hugo

Today Habitat marked the beginning of a multi-year townhome development in the city of Hugo with a wall raising event. Once completed, there will be a total of 33 new Habitat townhome units in the Generation Acres neighborhood.

These homes will be the first Habitat homes built in the city of Hugo, and came about as a result of a $1 million land donation made by JL Schwieters and Schwieters Companies. The generous five-acre land contribution is the largest land donation ever received by Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. (John and Joel Schwieters are pictured right with the Mayor of Hugo, Tom Weidt).

"We are pleased to be involved in this community and are looking forward to being a part of Habitat's success story," said Carly Schwieters, on behalf of the Schwieters family.

During today's ceremony, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity COO, Mary Schumacher, described Habitat's response to the land donation:

"Mike Nelson, our Land Development Director made a phone call about buying eight of the lots here in Hugo...he got a phone call back saying that they [JL Schwieters and Schwieters Companies] were considering donating the lots. 'All eight of the lots?' Mike asked. 'No, all 33 of them!'...We refer to this donation as our early Christmas present!"

Site Supervisor Josh Waylander also added a little-known fact about the extended generosity of the Schwieters family during his speech, noting that JL Schwieters and Schwieters Companies are also supplying lumber materials for the project.

As part of the day's events, Habitat celebrated major milestones with several local partners. AdvisorNet Financial recently kicked off its first year sponsoring a Habitat home, and volunteers from the community of independent advisors started work on the Hugo project last month. The 3Mgives Habitat Project has been a longtime partner of Twin Cities Habitat, and Hugo marks the 20th build that the group has supported financially and through volunteering. This seasoned group of 3M retirees and regular volunteers brings an incredible amount of skill and expertise to this particular project, having worked on previous Habitat townhome builds in the Garden Gate and Mississippi Dunes communities. Andersen Corporation is another major sponsor of the Hugo development, and has been partnering with Habitat for over two decades.

"We couldn't do the work we do without the support and partnerships that exist across the Twin Cities," Mary commented.

"It's so fun to see our staff working together in ways that they never have before, and include our partners and families... Believe me, we will be doing a home next year!" said Dan May, President and CEO of AdvisorNet Financial (pictured left with Jeanne Wiedewitsch and Todd Kelzenberg) .

Hugo Mayor Tom Weidt  gave a warm welcome to Habitat and its partners to the city of Hugo, and shared, "We are really excited about these lots and the residents that will be living here."

At the conclusion of today's ceremony, representatives from the Schwieters family, AdvisorNet Financial, 3M and Andersen Corporation helped to raise a wall on one of the new townhome units.

With a project this big, comes ample opportunities to get involved and lend a hand! Volunteer opportunities are currently available for June, July and August. Habitat's work in the Generation Acres neighborhood is set to be completed over the next four years.