Church extends its ministry by building unique housing By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle Available: two- and four-bedroom townhouses. Astor Neighborhood, near downtown, convenient. Disabled accessible throughout. Help with purchase price available. Contact: Union Congregational Church. The openings are in a three-townhouse building to be built by the church on land at 709 S. Jefferson St. And with interested occupants ready, the church is getting close to breaking ground. "We hope to break ground next spring," said the Rev. Charles Mize. "If we told De Leers (the project contractor) they could break ground tomorrow." An April 1 groundbreaking would allow completion by September. Officials are waiting, however, for sales of at least half of the space to start construction. At least two buyers are interested, they said. The project may seem to be an odd one for a church. UCC, however, has something of a reputation for its work with housing. The church worked to bring Habitat for Humanity to Green Bay in the 1980s, Mize said. It also instituted Jubilee House, a temporary shelter for people who have lost housing in fires, job losses or other disasters, and it founded the Ecumenical Housing Partnership. "We've had this interest in providing housing," Mize said. The city contacted the church two years ago about purchasing the property at 709 S. Jefferson St. which had been owned by an absentee landlord and was "in terrible shape," Mize said. "We invested $40,000 as did they, and the property is now ours as long as we do something the city likes." After discussion, a church committee came up with the plan: three townhouses on the land. Two are two-bedroom houses, completely accessible and designed for the disabled. The third is a two-story with four bedrooms, two upstairs. The downstairs area of this house also is barrier-free. "There would be no steps, (Americans with Disabilities Act) turning circles, plumbing fixtures and all that," Mize said. "We're trying to serve a part of the population that's greatly underserved," said Inky Meng of the committee. "It's more expensive for everything they do. They need equipment, they need supplies, they often can't get a job where they're paid as well, they often have large medical bills." The houses are to be owner-occupied, but the church committee realized that for some disabled people, that would require too much money. The houses will cost between $170,000 and $185,000 for the two-bedroom models, $195,000 to $215,000 for the four-bedroom. But the church will work with prospective buyers and is raising funds to help make the costs affordable, including possible no-interest mortgages. "We don't want people to be scared of the cost." The church will lose money but it's part of the ministry, she said. The church is still looking for prospective owners, and is working with other churches and social agencies, including Options for Independent Living. For information, contact Mize at 437-9266. The project is named after Dorothea Waitzmann, a longtime church member and advocate for the disabled who lived into her 80s with cerebral palsy. The name "Dorothea," Mize said, means "gift from God." "We named this project for her not because Dorothea left a million bucks to build it but she left us a tremendous legacy of inspiration and appreciation for the needs of the physically challenged."