Groundbreaking for the second home, to be located in Southern Oaks Phase III off Judd Parkway south of town, will be held in late May or early June, according to Andy Ladner, vice president for marketing with Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County. A date will be set as soon as a veteran is chosen to receive the home, he said.
The program is designed to provide a new home with appropriate special features free to a veteran who has lost limbs or suffered other debilitating injuries in combat.
“Our program is modeled after Habitat for Humanity,” Ladner said, explaining that the veteran is awarded one tenth of the price of the home each year for 10 years. At the end of that time, he owns the home.
“We build some pretty cool houses,” Ladner said, “most for under $200,000.”
The Triangle Real Estate and Construction Veterans (TREACV), The Armed Forces Foundation (AFF) and the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County (HBA) formed the Military Veterans Task Force (MVTF) several years ago with one goal in mind: to help wounded service members return to civilian life as comfortably as possible, living in homes of their own.
The first house built in the Fuquay-Varina area in 2008 went to Joey Bozik and his wife, Jayme Bozik. Joey, a former Airborne Military Police Sergeant with the 118th MP Company from Ft. Bragg, returned to this country a triple amputee. He spent a year and a half undergoing surgeries and extensive rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He married his fiancé while in the hospital. Land on which to build the next Operation Coming Home house has been donated by developer David Gaines and the Gaines Company. Construction will be done by Rich Van Tassel and the Royal Oaks Building group.
On the first house the town waived building permit fees. TREACV has requested a similar contribution from the town on the second house.
The second house, as the first, will be included on the next Parade of Homes. Ladner said the sponsoring group won three awards—state, regional and national awards—for the first Fuquay-Varina project. He expects the second one to be equal to the first. It, too, will be outfitted to meet the veteran’s special needs.
Veterans who qualify may make application for the next home to be built in Fuquay-Varina. The AFF will make a selection from the applicants.
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