Santa Ana : Families Finish Building Homes to Realize Dream

On a warm Saturday morning in January, El Sueno Imposible-- The Impossible Dream--came true for 20 Santa Ana families who had literally just finished building their own homes.

El Sueno Imposible was a project of the Civic Center Barrio Housing Corp., a private, nonprofit organization that is now getting ready to launch its second owner-built housing project.

“We’re looking for a few good families to work hard and build their dream houses,” said corporation President Helen Brown. The new project could be called the Possible Dream, since there is now the knowledge that “it was done, it can be done,” Brown said.

The corporation has two small sites for the new 15-condominium project. Eight of the new units will go up on Raitt Street, across from El Sueno Imposible, and seven will be built on North Jackson Street in the Santa Nita neighborhood.

The two-story condominiums will be slightly larger than 1,200 square feet, each with three bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and built-in kitchen appliances. Each unit also will have a deck and backyard.

Funding for the homes will be supplied through the California Housing Finance Agency, with interest rates fixed about 11% and amortized over 30 years. Each unit will cost about $80,000 and will require a 5% down payment.

The anticipated value of the units, however (about $100,000), is considerably higher, taking into consideration the 40 hours of labor each family will put into the project during the year of construction.

On May 22 the corporation will hold a meeting for families interested in taking part in the project. The two-hour meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Continental Land Title Co., 1015 N. Main St.

For reservations or pre-screening applications, interested families should call the Civic Center Barrio Housing Corp. between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays at 835-0406.