With housing prices in the Hudson Valley up nearly 90 percent over the last six years, homeownership has drifted out of reach for many working families. Teachers, healthcare workers, tradespeople, and others increasingly find themselves priced out of the communities where they work and have long lived.
On June 16, Ulster County Habitat for Humanity will invite the public inside one small part of the solution.
The nonprofit’s Designer Spotlight Open House, taking place from noon to 8pm at a newly completed home on Doris Street in Port Ewen, offers visitors a chance to tour a Habitat house before its new owners move in. The event also showcases how donated furniture, home goods, and volunteer labor come together to create an affordable home for a local family.
Founded in 1996, Ulster County Habitat for Humanity has built 24 affordable homes throughout the county. Unlike traditional charity models, Habitat families purchase their homes through affordable mortgages and contribute hundreds of hours of sweat equity during the building process.
The Port Ewen home is one of two Habitat projects currently underway in the Town of Esopus. It arrives at a moment when the organization is expanding its ambitions. In Saugerties, Habitat is developing Hope Springs, a 10-home neighborhood that will become the county’s first Habitat-built community created from the ground up.
“This is about keeping working families in Ulster County,” says Christine Brady LaValle, CEO of Ulster County Habitat for Humanity. “Families are looking for ways to stay in the community they love and put down permanent roots that support our local tax base, businesses, and schools.”
The open house also highlights the role of the Ulster Habitat ReStore, whose sales help fund Habitat’s homebuilding efforts. The Kingston-area thrift store accepts and sells furniture, appliances, building materials, and household goods, generating revenue that supports construction projects throughout the county.
For the Port Ewen house, local designers Michael Van Nort of MVN Design and Shana Luther worked with ReStore manager Lee Anne Albritton to furnish and stage the home using a mix of donated and repurposed items.
“We aim to use 50 percent of items from ReStore when designing the house,” Luther says. “There’s a lot of stuff in my designs that is pulled right out of the store.”
The furnishings and decor featured during the open house will be available for purchase, creating a direct connection between ReStore shoppers and Habitat’s housing mission.
Both designers have worked on previous Habitat projects. Luther collaborated with the organization in 2024, while Van Nort participated in a 2023 project through Kingston Design Connection. “The idea of working with other designers collaboratively drew me to the project,” Van Nort says.
For Albritton, who has worked with Habitat for six years, the organization’s impact extends well beyond construction. “I believe that a stable home does provide a future for whoever lives in that household,” she says. “It is an asset that provides a sense of safety and a place to go home to every night.”
That belief is shared by the thousands of volunteers who support Habitat’s work. Last year alone, volunteers contributed more than 10,000 hours through the ReStore and Habitat construction projects. The organization also partners with local schools including The Mount Academy and BOCES, giving students hands-on experience in the building trades while helping create affordable housing.
The June 16 event is designed not only to showcase the finished product, but also to help donors and volunteers see the results of their contributions firsthand. “We realized there were a lot of people who donate to Habitat but have not actually seen one of our homes,” Albritton says. “We wanted to show them the quality of the product they’re contributing to.”
The Designer Spotlight Open House is free and open to the public. RSVPs are encouraged.
