NRMCA, Ohio State Affiliate Help Promote Concrete Workforce Housing
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Through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Knox County, NRMCA and Ohio Concrete are supporting the construction of a concrete demonstration home in South Vernon, OH, reports NRMCA Senior Director, Building Innovations, Donn Thompson. Industry involvement came about through Ohio Concrete’s vocational training efforts aimed at introducing insulating concrete forms to local high school students enrolled at the Knox County Career Center.
The benefits of concrete will be showcased with the help of local and state support. The Knox County Land Bank, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, will use state funds to build energy efficient workforce housing. The funding is part of the first round of the Welcome Home Ohio program which invests $100 million in grants over two years to help land banks purchase, rehabilitate or build qualifying residential properties for income-eligible Ohioans. The state dollars will enable Habitat for Humanity to build 12 homes on lots the Foundation Park Conservancy has donated to the land bank.
NRMCA Producer member Ellis Brothers, Inc. is providing the ready mixed concrete and insulating concrete forms (ICFs) for the project. Habitat Executive Director Terry Schulz said the ICF building method has been around for years and is now gaining popularity because of increased lumber prices.
“There are numerous benefits to doing insulated concrete forms over lumber, one of them being that all of these homes on the south side of Columbus Road are in the 100-year flood plain. Having a concrete support for the structure is much more impervious to potential flood issues,” Schulz explained. “In addition, we expect to see more cost savings with the ICF building than stick-build because of the natural insulating properties of the concrete assembly.”
For more information, contact Lisa Weaver-Moon, Central/SE promotion director – Ohio Concrete at lisa@ohioconcrete.org or 614-902-2955 or Donn Thompson at dthompson@nrmca.org or 224-627-3933.
