2009-07-12T23:56:00.000-07:00

Brown Family Home Building Update:
July 12th, 2009 www.citiesrebuildingcities.com
I am happy to report that the Brown Family project has broken ground and the target completion date is December 22nd 2009. You can watch our progress by selecting the Project Photo Blog on the main website. It has been a while since I have written so I want to bring you up to date on all that has happened since we met Cornelius Brown in January of 2008.

There have been several significant developments, first the connection we made with Operation Helping Hands in New Orleans who is managing the home building project. I can’t say enough about this organization, they have been the prime mover in getting Federal and State funds for the Browns and they have given psychological comfort during this very tough time for the family. Second, our relationship with Building Science Corporation (BSC) who is responsible for the home design. We knew we wanted to build a “green and sustainable” home and BSC made it happen. In all my years in the construction industry, I have never seen the level of detail BSC has put into the design. We have had weekly conference calls with BSC and Operation Helping Hands to insure the design fits the needs of the Brown family and that it is truly sustainable. We could have never paid for this level of architectural design work and it happened only because of a grant from the US Department of Energy.

BSC worked with two PCC students who helped with the design. Interior Design student April Golden developed CAD drawings of the interior elevations and Design/Build Remodeling student Nikki Jeffers designed the kitchen. I got so fired up about Nikki’s kitchen design that I ran a special class in spring term in which we built the cabinets. They are really beautiful and state of the art. Blum Hardware donated all the cabinet hardware including their new Aventos upper cabinet door lift system. We used all formaldehyde free panel products for the cabinet parts and Louis and Company donated plastic laminate and edge banding.

Figuring out how to get the cabinets from Portland to New Orleans was a big issue. Initially I spoke with a moving company and the estimate was around $3000.00. Thanks to Dave Nelson at Design Craft Door the cabinets are on their way to NOLA and the cost was around $300.00. Design Craft crated the cabinet parts (no charge) and struck a sweet deal with one of the common carriers with whom they do business. Thank you Dave, you have no Idea how much this means to the project. To help with shipping costs we knocked down the cabinets and I will be in NOLA in August to reassemble, ready for installation in December.

Another significant event happened back in January. Toto USA donated all of plumbing fitting and fixtures for the home. I met Gunnar Baldwin, Toto’s water conservation specialist, at a trade show in May of 2007. Subsequently Gunnar visited our campus and gave a lecture on water conservation at which time I mentioned the Brown project. He said, let me know when you are ready, and the rest is history. Toto donated all of the toilets, tubs, lavatories and fixtures for the bathrooms. Thank you Gunnar and Toto!!

In addition to raising funds for the home construction, we needed money for student travel to New Orleans so that our skilled Building Construction Technology students could help with the project. Once again due to a generous donation from a Foundation in Chicago, and donations from Skanska and a Portland Community College staff member, we raised enough funds for 10 students to travel to NOLA. In fact, at this writing, four students are currently working on the foundation and four more are on their way later this month. Additionally two students will accompany me in December to install the cabinets.

The combined fundraising by Cities Rebuilding Cities and Catholic Charities will insure the home gets built, but we need additional funds for appliances and furniture. To that end we have developed a new section to our webpage showcasing the appliances, so please check it out and feel free to donate. It’s amazing how $20.00 donations add up. All donations are managed by the Portland Community College Foundation and totally tax deductable.

After our first encounter with the Browns, Rick Kolinsky, Francis McBride, Ken Madden and I made a commitment to help this family rebuild their home. We knew we couldn’t do it alone and we didn’t have to, thanks to everyone who has helped make it happen. Little did we know that the worst recession in recent history would strike just as we began our work but it didn’t stop your generosity.

Please watch the Project Photo Blog on our website and also help us get the word out about appliances and furniture. I want to make a suggestion to those of you who have already given and who sent e-mails to friends and family. Since we began this project a phenomenon called Facebook has taken off. I know I have connected with almost 100 “new” old friends. So if you have had a similar experience, and you are so inclined, please send a note and a link to our website to your “new” old friends.
Spence

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