Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County broke ground Monday, June 14, on what will become its third neighborhood, Osage Place, later this year. Around 50 people attended the ceremony, which was led by Wendi Goodlett, the organization’s president and CEO.
Osage Place will occupy 12 1/2 acres on Bloomington’s south side, just off Rockport Road, and will have space to provide homes for 69 families. Habitat already owned eight of those acres, and the Monroe County Board of Commissioners donated the other 4 1/2 to complete the neighborhood.
Infrastructure work for the 5 3/4-acre phase one of the project has begun and should be completed this summer. Phase one construction will then begin in September to build 30 single/paired homes over the next three to four years. All of the homes will be fully accessible, net-zero energy homes.
Meredith Rogers, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County’s board chair, and her husband, Sherman Rogers, donated the largest percentage of funding for the phase one of the infrastructure. The remainder is being provided by the City of Bloomington and proceeds from Habitat mortgages that have been leveraged to secure New Markets Tax Credits through Habitat for Humanity International.
Cedar Chase, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County’s first neighborhood, houses more than 30 families on the city’s southwest side, and its second, Trail View, is nearly completed near the B-Line Trail northwest of downtown. Since its 1988 inception, the organization has built 218 homes and housed 775 people. It currently averages 8–10 home builds per year.
(l-r) Monroe County Commissioners Julie Thomas, Lee Jones, and Penny Githens. Photo by Rodney Margison 
Habitat Board Chair Meredith Rogers (right) and her husband, Sherman Rogers. Photo by Rodney Margison 
Branded hard hats on display at the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Rodney Margison 
(l-r) Former Bloomington City Council member and Monroe County Commissioner Charlotte Zietlow, and Deputy Mayor Don Griffin Jr., representing the City. Photo by Rodney Margison 
Deputy Mayor Don Griffin Jr. Photo by Rodney Margison 
(l-r) Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County President and CEO Wendi Goodlett, Board Chair Meredith Rogers, and Sherman Rogers. Photo by Rodney Margison
