'Habitat' nails down two new homeowners in Modesto

New carpeting covered the floor. A refurbished kitchen held donated food. Sparkling windows let light in on fresh paint and new fixtures.

But Isiah Gantt had eyes only for the orange balloon someone gave him, chasing it around his new room as his parents checked out the rest of the house, refurbished by Habitat for Humanity.

Bobby and Tina Gantt's two-bedroom, one-bath house on Tenaya Drive is one of several homes the organization is tackling in Modesto's airport neighborhood. The program helps low-income families become homeowners. Participants must put in sweat equity, then get low-interest loans with affordable payments.

Work began on the Gantt home a year and a half ago. A dedication ceremony was held Friday morning.

"I've done a little bit of everything," said Tina Gantt, 23. "The only thing I didn't do was roofing."

Tina, her husband, Bobby Gantt Jr., and their son roomed with their parents while waiting for work on the house to finish. They spent Friday moving their belongings into their new house.

In the meantime, Isiah — he'll be 2 on April 26 — played in his new room.

"He's running around already," Tina Gantt said.

Tina Gantt said she heard about the program while shopping at Habitat's ReStore outlet, which sells donated home improvement products. Habitat executive director Anita Hellam said the store makes $40,000 a month in revenue for the program. It also provides jobs — Bobby Gantt, 22, now works at ReStore.

Sponsors for this home included Stanislaus County and nearby Gallo Glass.

"In these tough economic times, it's tough to become a homeowner," Vice President of Operations John Gallo said Friday morning. "This is a great example of the community coming together.

"Welcome to the neighborhood."

Hellam said Habitat is working on several homes in the neighborhood, two within sight of the Gantts' front porch.

"I believe I can see this neighborhood transformed," Hellam said. She said in addition to the houses it adopts, Habitat secures grants for general neighborhood cleanup. "We're trying to tackle this block by block."

Friday, a group of volunteers, dignitaries and family members looked around the house, admired the kitchen — stocked by the Grocery Outlet — and talked about upcoming projects. In addition to airport neighborhood work, Habitat has a 20-home project on the West Side. The project is called Hope Village and so far, six of the houses have been framed.

Most Habitat programs work on a house or two at a time, board President Stephen Veglia said.

"Anita thinks big," he said. "She wants to build neighborhoods."

Bee city editor Patty Guerra can be reached at 578-2343 or pguerra@modbee.com.