More than 200 Pennsylvania College of Technology students will help build a single-story family home in a major joint effort with the Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity.
“This is our first project with Habitat for Humanity to do from start to finish, from donating land to being a part of the project from start to finish,” Penn College President Michael Reed said. “This is a pretty unique, special project. I'm hoping it goes well.”
Penn College and Habitat for Humanity broke ground Thursday at a former nuisance bar at 508 Fifth Ave. in Williamsport.
Habitat for Humanity Chief Executive Officer Bob Robinson said the home on the vacant property should be ready by May 2026.
“Penn College has been for quite some time helping us, bringing classes over and helping,” Robinson said. “What's special about this project is only going to be worked on by Penn College students, so they're going to be able to meet their course objectives.”
More than 100 students, officials and community members attended the groundbreaking.
The college bought and demolished the property in 2015, then donated it to Habitat in October 2023.
“It's been in the works for more than two years. We've been working out the details, putting together the Penn College land donation and finding a path that fulfills Habitat's needs while maintaining the college's course learning outcomes for the classes that will be participating in this event,” said Ellyn Lester, the college’s assistant dean of construction and architecture.
Assistant building construction technology professor Garret Graff helped start the project two years ago.
“He came to me a little bit more than two and a half years ago. I'd only been at the college for a few months and wanted to do something with Habitat for Humanity. We weren't quite sure how we were going to do that, but he has been part of this project since day one,” Lester said.
The project pushed ahead with help of engineering studies dean Brad Webb.
“At my first annual review, I asked Dr. Webb about a stretch goal for the division, what would he like to see? He said, without hesitation, ‘I'd like to see us build a house,’” Lester said. “Didn't know how, didn't know where but here we are today.”
Penn College Chief Government and International Relations Officer Pat Marty helped create partnerships with city and county officials, Lester said.
The joint effort will train students majoring in construction, engineering and other related fields.
“Our construction students can be working with our electrical. Electricians are gonna be working with our architecture. Architects are working with heavy equipment, so they're all gonna have to be working together in unison to provide something pretty special for our community," Reed said.
The Lycoming County Commissioners approved a $100,000 federal American Rescue Plan Act grant for construction materials, Reed said. The city will let the builders store equipment and materials on another lot behind where the house will go.
“We are not just building a house, we are creating a home - a home filled with hope, stability and the promise of a brighter future for a deserving family,” Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter said. “Having had the privilege of serving on the Habitat board, I've come to realize that Habitat for Humanity is about so much more than constructing homes. It's about fostering community compassion and partnership.”
Founded in 1989, Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity and its volunteers build and renovate affordable homes for limited-income families. They have built about 60 homes and renovated 40.
Volunteers work every Thursday and Saturday. About a dozen to 20 people work depending on the project, Robinson said.
The group expects to build 11 new homes by 2027. Six are under construction on Scott Street in Williamsport and four more on Clark Street in South Williamsport Borough, Robinson said.
The City Council allocated $405,000 in federal Housing and Urban Development money for the Scott Street homes.
Gregory Neal, a Penn College senior who majors in residential construction technology and management, has worked on a Scott Street home and plans to work on the new ones. He finds the work “very rewarding.”
“Habitat will take pretty much anybody as long as you're willing to swing a hammer or if you want to provide lunches for the work crews,” Neal said. “They work, they can contact the Greater Lycoming and then they'll get them in touch with the days they would need.”
Habitat for Humanity last finished a home before COVID.
“It's really exciting to get up and begin producing more low income homes,” Robinson said.
