Builders break ground on new Benefit Home in Cy-Fair

Construction recently began on a home in the Bridgeland subdivision that will be sold as a charity benefit.

The Greater Houston Builders Association is sponsoring the four-bedroom, three-bathroom house as part of its Benefit Homes project. Over the years, the association's members have pitched in materials and building services to build homes, which are then sold at a profit, which in turn gets donated to local charity organizations.

Benefit Homes held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Bridgeland house Tuesday morning, and builder David Weekley Homes will be in charge of the construction.

GHBA spokesperson Terry Swenson says that the home will probably be priced around $275,000, and that proceeds from it sale will go toward the Texas Children's Cancer Center, the Houston branch of the Alzheimer's Association, and HomeAid Houston, a second non-profit wing of the GHBA that helps build shelters for women and children in crisis.

"We've raised $6 million in 31 years" through Benefit Homes, Swenson says. "The majority of that 31 years, the money's gone to Texas Children's Hospital," she adds, though in recent years the proceeds have been focused more on cancer and Alzheimer's efforts.

"[On Tuesday] we had speakers from the three charities there, and we invited members to come... we all went over to the site, and they had gold shovels and we did a photo op," Swenson says. "[We also] had a young girl, 17, that had had leukemia twice."

Swenson says Benefit Homes projects usually take about three months to build. "I would anticipate probably by August 1 that the home will be finished," she says. "In the meantime, they'll be trying to sell it. We have accomplished that [selling it before completion] a couple of times, but sometimes people just want to wait and see what it's going to look like."