USC AREA : University to Help in Housing ‘Blitz’

USC and Habitat for Humanity, a self-help housing program for low-income families, will join forces in the spring to build a house just north of the USC campus and as many as 40 more throughout the city in a “blitz build” project in 1995.

The Lusk Center for Real Estate Development, a part of the USC School of Urban and Regional Planning, will team with Habitat for Humanity to build a house on West 24th Street in a 10-week volunteer effort tentatively to begin in March, said Bonnie Holmes, the Lusk Center’s administrative director.

The house will be sold to a qualified low-income family for about $65,000--plus 500 hours of “sweat equity.”

USC has agreed to put up part of the funds to buy the land and the Los Angeles Housing Department will put up the rest. In addition, Habitat and USC are seeking to raise $65,000 for building materials and other costs. Businesses and individuals are encouraged to “adopt a foot” of the project for $60, Holmes said.

The joint project is the first phase of a larger effort that will end with the construction of more than 40 houses in the Los Angeles area with the help of thousands of volunteers during the week of June 18-24, 1995, Holmes said.

USC will house the volunteers, including former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in its residence halls. Students in fields such as architecture, engineering and real estate development also will have a chance to apply what they have studied in class by working on the project.

Habitat for Humanity has built more than 25,000 homes around the world since 1976. The Los Angeles affiliate, founded in 1991, has completed five houses in Lynwood and Willowbrook and is working on four more in East Los Angeles, Watts and South-Central. Another 20 are planned for 1994.

Families purchase homes for about $65,000 with a 1% down payment. The balance is amortized over 20 years without interest, but the families must also put “sweat equity” into the deal, volunteering 500 hours of construction labor or office work for Habitat.

Information: (213) 743-4224.