Workspace startup to hold first event
A new startup called Maven Makers is inviting the public to its first event this Sat., Dec. 21, to help learn about and build workbenches for local nonprofit Savannah Bike Campaign.
Maven Makers has been working with students at Woodville-Tompkins High School to design workbenches using wood from Emergent Structures, a local organization that repurposes old building materials. The workbenches will be ready for assembly on Saturday. The first half of the day will be spent learning the ins and outs of creating a workbench, and the second half to building them. The workbenches will be used by the Savannah Bike Campaign for restoring and repairing bicycles.
Started by a SCAD grad and UGA grad, Maven Makers is working to establish a collaborative workspace where the the community can come and share knowledge, design and creativity. The company plans on holding monthly workshops in which the public can come learn a skill and, in the process, benefit local companies through different projects.
Lunch will be provided as well as prizes. The event will be held at Southern Pine Company at 616 E. 35th Street. Cost is $35. More information at mavenmakers.org.
Huston Trust donates $10,000 to Habitat
Habitat for Humanity in Savannah, the area’s premier builder of affordable housing, recently received a $10,000 grant from the Stewart Huston Charitable Trust. Funds will support Project Green Shelter, a private-public partnership that involves the historic preservation, construction, and sustainability sectors in design and development of affordable, green housing.
Savannah, a city in which 25.5 percent of the residents live in poverty, is experiencing an affordable housing crisis of epic proportions. Through Habitat for Humanity in Savannah, the community’s most vulnerable populations can access affordable housing, thanks to an innovative model that partners corporations, individual volunteers, and applicant families in developing decent and energy efficient homes that a Habitat family will one day purchase. Strict guidelines govern the selection of partner families, ensuring that Habitat’s homeowners are those in need.
Habitat for Humanity in Savannah builds safe, decent, affordable housing. Responding to an assessment of partner family needs, the organization has reconfigured its building program to meet green building standards. Building green positions Habitat Savannah to address energy poverty, or the absurdly high cost-burden that impoverished families bear as they navigate living in poverty housing.
U.S. existing-home sales drop for 3rd straight month
The number of people who bought existing U.S. homes in November declined for the third straight month. Home re-sales fell 4.3 percent to an annual rate of 4.90 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That was the weakest pace since December 2012 and the first time since April that the pace has slipped below 5 million.
Higher mortgage rates have made home-buying more expensive, while the lingering effect of the October government shutdown might have deterred some sales.
