CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thousands of volunteers will come together this week to build 23 homes in west Charlotte as part of the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
Habitat for Humanity chose Charlotte for this year's building site, helping build homes for neighbors in need. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will be in Charlotte Monday to help lead the project, which begins construction Monday.
“It’s harder than ever to afford a home,” Brooks said.
The country stars took over as ambassadors of the work project after the Carters and will be lending their voices for the big build.
“We’ve learned a lot by building along them," Yearwood said.
“President Carter believed, as long as there’s one person on this planet without a roof over their head, Habitats job is not done. I have to agree with that,” Brooks said.
A piece of land in west Charlotte is getting new life as dozens of new houses begin to take shape. Thousands of volunteers will help build 39 total homes at an affordable housing development near the airport where the Plato Price School once stood.
It's an undertaking that Habitat for Humanity Charlotte CEO Laura Belcher has envisioned for years.
"Hosting the Carter Work Project is an acknowledgment of our hard work and commitment to being a leader in the affordable home ownership space," Belcher said. “This land has sat vacant for 50 years, waiting for its rebirth."
Belcher was joined by members of the Carter family, along with Brooks and Yearwood, for an open ceremony Sunday night.
The $10.6 million development is called The Meadows at Plato Place and is named after the all-Black grade school that once stood there. Plato Price was a centerpiece of Charlotte's Black community over a century ago. New homeowners are excited to move in and be a part of the land's legacy moving forward.
"I feel proud to be able to have a home and be able to provide shelter for me and Baylie," Lapri Holmes, a future homeowner, said.
"I'm very excited," another homeowner shared. "This is something that's really, really great for my family."
“Seeing everybody come out and help from different cities, towns, means a lot to me" Brianna Sandford, a future homeowner, said. “I cried tears of joy earlier.”
Habitat for Humanity Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Charlotte
The project comes at a time when being able to afford a home is becoming more difficult. The demand for housing outweighs the supply, driving up higher prices.
Volunteers will continue to help build throughout the week in west Charlotte.
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