AMHERST — Tim Barnes admits he wouldn’t normally open a solicitation email from Habitat for Humanity.
But last winter the Belchertown single father of two daughters decided to read its contents and take a chance. He attended an information session at the Jones Library where he met officials from the Pioneer Valley chapter about a project in Amherst, and received information indicating his family might be a good match for home ownership.
After applying for the opportunity, Barnes, a rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, and his daughters Riley, 6, and Claire, 4, were selected and will be calling one portion of a duplex under construction at 235-237 East Pleasant St. their home next year.
“My two daughters and I are very much looking forward to moving into a healthier, newer structure they can be proud of and a school system that is one of the best in the state,” Barnes said. “It coudn’t have worked out better. It seems like it was meant to be.”
His daughters, he added, are excited. “They can’t wait to pick out the colors of their rooms,” Barnes said.
Barnes and a single mother of three were selected as the owners of the two residences within the duplex by officials at Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity, based in Florence.
“We are happy about these two families who will get the opportunity for homeownership,” said Megan McDonough, the organization’s executive director.
Barnes has been on site working, which is part of his 150 hours of sweat equity, along with 100 additional hours that he will give to the organization. So far, he said, he has enjoyed working alongside four team members and six to 10 other volunteers.
“He’s a good addition,” said Walt Kohler, team leader and chairman of Habitat’s building committee.
Barnes said he has drilled holes for dryer vents and installed the furring strips for the drywall.
Though too young to do any of the actual work, his daughters have already helped Habitat for Humanity by raising more than $3,000 through a Bible vacation camp in Connecticut, he said.
McDonough said Habitat relies on volunteers and partnerships to make sure what is constructed will be affordable for future owners. The homes will be sold at up to $135,000 and the residents’ incomes can be no more than 50 percent of the area’s median income, adjusted for family size.
Yankee Home Improvement of Chicopee recently pledged to provide the shingles, windows, doors and vinyl siding for the home.
“That was a big commitment to this home and this community,” McDonough said.
Ger Ronan, owner of Yankee Home Improvement, explained his company’s reasons for making these donations.
“There was a time when I was without a roof over my head in the ’80s when I first came to this country, so I can appreciate the work that Habitat for Humanity does,” the Irish native said in a statement.
The town, which acquired the property for recreation, open space and affordable housing and demolished a deteriorating 19th-century farmhouse, has also pledged Community Preservation Act money toward its completion.
McDonough said because of the volunteer nature of the building project, construction can be slow. Students from Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton, for example, will do the plumbing, but they cannot begin their work until the fall.
“We always encourage in-kind donations and feel like professionals have been really stepping up,” McDonough said.
Florence Savings Bank is helping finance the project and Wagner Wood cleared the lot.
“It feels to me like the business community understands that homeownership is not attainable for everyone, and they’re trying to make that happen,” McDonough said.
The duplex, which will be the 38th and 39th homes completed in the Pioneer Valley, is the only project currently under construction by Habitat. A second duplex in Amherst, near the the North Amherst Community Farm, is getting lined up for permitting and zoning approvals, McDonough said.
Future projects in Northampton and Greenfield will depend on site acquisition.
McDonough said Habitat maintains a notification list so people can be contacted when applications are open for the North Amherst duplex.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.