Despite Friday’s cloudy skies and cool temperatures a group of prospective homeowners came out to the Greenwood-Leflore Airport to get a glimpse of the American Dream revealed.
“We’ve been waiting a long time. We’re so happy that it’s here. We thank everybody who made this possible, for us to finally own a home,” said Lora Gallion.
Gallion and her husband, Michael, who are already approved for purchasing one of 26 Katrina cottages, were on hand to witness Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams officially sign over ownership of the cottages to the Greenwood-Leflore Fuller Center for Housing.
A local and private bill, permitting the city to donate the cottages to the non-profit finally cleared both houses of the state Legislature this year and was signed into law by Gov. Phil Bryant. The bill had died in the Legislature the two previous years.
The Greenwood City Council quickly approved the transfer of the cottages to the Fuller Center at its meeting last Tuesday.
The Katrina cottages were issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Gulf Coast homeowners whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Moss Melton, president of the Fuller Center, said the first few cottages will be in place by July.
On Friday, the Gallions and other already approved applicants got their first chance to see the cottages up close.
Lora Gallion, who grew up on Young Street in Baptist Town, said she isn’t certain whether the couple’s two-bedroom cottage will be located in Baptist Town or nearby.
Michael Gallion, a former over-the-road trucker, and his wife, a former nursing assistant, are both disabled.
Besides the steps leading to the front porch and backdoor, the cottages present no problem to the couple.
“It fits us perfectly. It’s a blessing,” Lora Gallion said.
Michael Gallion said the cottages will contribute to the community as a whole. “It’s a plus to have nice, decent housing.”
Pann Powers, secretary and chairman of the family selection committee of the Fuller Center, said Friday’s event made the lengthy ordeal worthwhile.
“These homeowners, getting to see what their futures are going to look like, we’re just so excited,” she said.
Brenda Gray, another approved homeowner, knows firsthand about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in 2005.
“I went through Katrina. I was living in Biloxi when Katrina hit. My boyfriend, his family was from here. We were outrunning the storm and ended up here,” she said.
Gray said the quality built into the cottages was evident when she returned to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina.
“These cottage are better than some of the homes that used to stand there. I think they’re really reliable and really nice,” she said.
Today, Gray is a resident of Baptist Town.
She said the addition of the cottages will transform Baptist Town.
“I think it’s fabulous,” Gray said.
Dorothy Russell, a native of Baptist Town said the cottages will be welcomed in Baptist Town.
“This is something nice going on for us over there. We need to fill in all those empty spots over there,” she said.
Mabel Miller, who has lived in Baptist Town for 30 years and is approved for one of the cottages, said they are a dream come true for the residents. “They’re nice up in there.”
Melton said funding for the project remains tight. “We’re all in on this project but we don’t have the money to complete the project.”
Funding was also a part of Friday’s signing ceremony. On hand were Vickie Rivers, and Nayarda Robison, both commercial lenders, with the Renaissance Corp. of Gulfport.
“They said they needed funding for placement of Phase II, so we’re looking to try and assist with that.
Phase I of the project would place 11 cottages in Greenwood. Phase II calls for an additional three to nine cottages.
Rivers said her group is interested in helping with the permanent placement of the cottages as well as helping with homeowner financing.
While two private developments using Katrina cottages have been done on the Gulf Coast, Rivers said, she is not aware of any other municipality in the state using cottages for community redevelopment.
Jason Spellings of Jackson, who claimed to have built the first Katrina cottage, said that 2,800 cottages were built by a variety of modular home companies.
Spellings, who grew up in Greenwood, later worked in the governor’s office and coordinated with Fred Carl Jr., the former president and chief executive officer of Viking Range Corp., in an effort to get some of the cottages donated to the city.
“This is a big deal for me,” he said.
For McAdams, signing the cottages over to the Fuller Center, was the icing on the cake.
“It’s a great day,” she said.
“This is the Katrina house pen,” McAdams said, holding up the pen that she used to donate the cottages to the Fuller Center.
She said she intends to put the pen on display in her office.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
