Dream delivered: Holyoke sees modular home set in place for future Habitat homeowner

Suspended in midair before landing with purpose, a newly completed modular Habitat home was set Nov. 14 onto its Holyoke foundation. The milestone was made possible by an innovative partnership with between Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity (GSHFH), Holyoke Housing Authority (HHA) and the University of Massachusetts (UMass) DesignBuild program.

Before a crowd of onlookers, including soon-to-be homeowner Pedro, HHA employees, and GSHFH staffers and a board member, the single-story home and its roof were lifted off a trailer and placed onto its Chestnut Street foundation over three hours.

“It was striking to observe the level of precision, coordination, and expertise involved,” said Chris Schultz, GSHFH board member, after witnessing the event, a first for him. “The impressive demonstration of engineering and efficiency was mind blowing.”

Ben Leinfelder, construction manager of UMass Building and Construction Technology, who led the effort, said it was his fourth time managing the delivery and placement of a modular home.

“It went extremely well,” he said. “We’ve learned to include some wiggle room with the different pieces so that we don’t have to perfectly place the modules on the first shot. The machinery is massive and getting exact placement can be tricky.”

In fact, during the design and planning phases, the team thought the Holyoke site was easily accessible. It was later determined a larger crane was needed to make the reach.

“When I watched the house – that weighs approximately 35,000 pounds – soar over the trees on Friday, I thought to myself, ‘This is insane. What are we doing?’” Ben said. “Indeed, there is a lot of effort involved in building a house 25 miles up the road in Amherst only to dismantle and move it again. But it allowed us to build efficiently – from design to built in less than a year – and provide an unbelievable experience for our students on campus, so it was worth it.”

Pedro, who with his wife Damaris, will soon purchase the house, agreed.

“Pedro said he thought the home looked bigger on the site of his property. He was pleased and happy to see this dream come to fruition,” said Vivian Rodriguez, HHA Homeownership Education coordinator and interpreter for the couple.

The final steps to complete the home include: installing siding where the home links to the foundation, connecting to public utilities, reattaching the front and side porches, insulating the attic and basement, and installing appliances.

The home will be finished and open to the public on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the dedication.