Volunteers Come Out in Droves to Help Build Maple Hill Homes

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland hosted more than 30 volunteers and future homeowners at its Maple Hill site in Gaithersburg—the local group’s first new construction project since 2008.

Work began in 2012 on Maple Hill, a townhouse community being built on 3 acres of land at Emory Grove and Strawberry Knoll roads. The project is expected to be finished by the end of August. Each townhouse will have three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, with a garage on the first level.

The volunteers who came out for the Jan. 20 MLK Day of Service are among hundreds expected to come help build the homes, Habitat officials said in a news release Tuesday.

“Dr. King said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?’ At Habitat for Humanity, our mission is to provide decent and affordable housing both locally and globally,” said John Paukstis, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland in the news release.

Habitat received approximately 130 applications for Maple Hill, though 19 families have already been chosen for the homes, a Habitat spokeswoman told Patch.

To be eligible, homeowners had to earn less than 60 percent of the area median income, which is $64,380 for a four-person household.

Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland purchased the land from a private seller in December 2011.

The project will cost about $4.8 million, or roughly $250,000 per unit.

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Editor's Note: The video posted with this story features scenes from Maple Hill's ground breaking ceremony in 2012. You can also view the video here on Vimeo.