Work under way on Rollow Estates
SOMERTON — Work is under way on another residential subdivision here designed to make home ownership more affordable to low- and moderate-income families.
Housing American Corporation, a nonprofit organization based in Somerton, broke ground on Rollow Estates, a self-helping housing subdivision located west of Cesar Chavez Avenue and south of Main Street.
In the organization's self-help housing program, 149 families will contribute up to 65 percent of the labor in building their own homes, thus cutting the cost of construction.
The project, financed with low-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program and with Housing America funds, will include streets, sidewalks plus infrastructure improvements to handle water and sewer service to the subdivision.
The project will pump $1.5 million into the local economy, Housing America officials say.
The subdivision is named for the Rollow families, one of Somerton's pioneering families.
In all, more than 1,000 homes have been built in Somerton and around Yuma County for qualifying families in Housing America's self-help housing program, said Jessica Castro, the organization's business and human resources director.
