President Allen Sterling said city officials and other guests are being invited to the ceremony. and the public is welcome to attend. The new homeowners will be introduced.

    The family, which includes five children ranging in age from six to 12, was chosen from a list of 25 applicants. The selection committee considered factors such as need for affordable housing and ability to repay the interest-free mortgage. The family now lives in an Auburn trailer park.

    The house will be built on land purchased for $3,000 from the city of Auburn. Architect Michel Giasson of Auburn is providing building plans on a pro bono basis.

    Sterling expressed thanks to the Auburn City Council for making the land available to AHFH. He noted that the arrangement will benefit both parties by providing inexpensive land with water and sewer hookups to Habitat and giving the city income from property taxes.

    The president said that Androscoggin Habitat may build a second home before this year's construction season ends. The location of the second house is not yet determined, but there are hopes of acquiring city-owned land in either Auburn or Lewiston. Another possibility is using land that Androscoggin Habitat already owns on Golder Road in Lewiston - but that could require extensive site work.

    Volunteers are needed to help with construction, he said. No experience is necessary. Financial contributions also are welcome. For more information call 786-2598

'IT SEEMS LIKE THE RIGHT THING TO DO'

    It is hard enough to build a Habitat house on a normal lot, but when the lot is only 50 feet wide there are special problems. That will be the case this summer when Androscoggin Habitat for Humanity volunteers set to work at 133 Hampshire Street in Auburn. They'll have to build a four-bedroom house on a lot that is narrower than any of the lots used for the 14 houses the chapter has built since 1989.

    Instead of using standard Habitat for Humanity house plans, special plans are required. And architect Michel Giasson has volunteered to prepare them - at no cost.

Why work without pay?
"Well," he replies, "I've been blessed. It seemed like the right thing to do." He says this will be a good opportunity for him to carry out his ideas for a house that is open and airy and will fit a narrow site in an attractive way - thus getting away from the national 50-year trend toward larger houses. Mike is preparing three or four preliminary designs but he believes the best solution will turn out to be a house with two stories. "Most buildings in the neighborhood are two stories," he points out.

    "The lot is an urban site where neighboring houses are close together. There are technical requirements to be met and costs must be kept low. We cannot use big windows or fancy trim and finish work. We have to build economically with good quality and good character."

    Mike lives and works at 33 Hillcrest St., near the building site. He is a graduate of Edward Little High School and Syracuse University and studied in Scandinavia. He spent 10 years at midsize architectural firms in the Boston area and in Portland, working on schools, hospitals, commercial and residential projects, before opening his own firm in 2003. Mike is not only an architect, he's well known locally as a musician. He takes part in a free open mike program on the second Friday of the month at the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Auburn, as guitarist and vocalist. His wife, Toby, is hostess.

2009 HOME GROUNDBREAKING