Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio and Ohio University have launched the on-site construction phase of the Bobcat Build, a partnership to provide affordable housing in Southeast Ohio, the Athens Messenger reported. The two organizations will construct a 1,092-square-foot, three-bedroom home, building the modular home in two sections on Ohio University’s Athens campus, according to the Athens Messenger.
“Housing is an issue that impacts everyone in this community and it’s an issue that we impact pretty directly,” Courtney Lefebvre, interim executive director of Ohio University’s Center for Community Impact, told the Athens Messenger. “This project is a real opportunity for us to help address it and I’m really grateful to be part of it and excited to have an opportunity to use this as a way to expand the conversations around the campus community,” Lefebvre told the Athens Messenger.
Volunteers will build three days a week until around Thanksgiving, with professionals handling specialized work such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning and electrical work over winter break, the Athens Messenger reported. Construction will resume during the Spring 2027 semester, and the finished building will then be transported to its permanent home in Ross County, where it will be completed, Lefebvre explained to the Athens Messenger.
The launch was marked with a “first nail” ceremony attended by Lefebvre, Ohio University President Lori Stewart Gonzalez and Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney, after which Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio held an open volunteer shift for Ohio University students, faculty and community members, according to the Athens Messenger.
The partnership grew out of personal connections and previous collaborations with the university’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, Ken Oehlers, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio, explained to the Athens Messenger. The Athens County Foundation and Project Co-Create also helped establish the partnership, and the city of Chillicothe helped facilitate it, the Messenger reported.
“Our organization at Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio is always focused on pushing the envelope of innovation and looking at how we can use community assets to make things happen for the community members, because it takes a community to build a community,” Oehlers told the Athens Messenger. Feeney, an Ohio University alumnus, told the Athens Messenger: “This is regional collaboration. This is literally building regional collaboration, and that’s so exciting to be a part of.”
Students are part of the build, too. Members of Ohio University’s Habitat for Humanity Student Chapter are among those involved, and chapter president Aoife McLaughlin told the Athens Messenger the chapter works to build safe and affordable housing for all, adding: “We’re all Bobcats, and we are coming together to build a home for people in need of safe, affordable shelter.” Volunteer building continues three days a week on the Athens campus until around Thanksgiving.