NORTHAMPTON — Five years ago, Sara Lamountain-Costigan was living in an apartment in Easthampton with her husband, Tim, and their four children. But the family aspired to someday live somewhere they could call their own.

“We always hoped to have a home, but with the way the economy is, it just was not looking good,” Lamountain-Costigan recalled. “And then somebody suggested to us applying for Habitat with Humanity.”

Lamountain-Costigan began following the nonprofit, which builds affordable homes across the country, to keep tabs on any new developments in her immediate area. When Habitat announced it was building three new affordable homes off Burts Pit Road in Northampton, the family jumped at the chance.

Lamountain-Costigan remembers well the day she found out she had been selected as one of three families to reside in the new affordable homes. It was the same day she had brought the ashes of her mother, who had just died, back to her apartment.

“It was a bittersweet day,” she recalled. “When I got the call telling me that I had the house, it was almost like I felt like my mom gave them that nudge to pull my name out.”

Since then, Lamountain-Costigan and her family have been heavily involved in the process of building the home, being present during a wall-raising ceremony in July 2023 and working with other volunteers on aspects such as painting and framing the new house, which is two stories, three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, and overlooks a field of grazing cows in the distance.

Plans to build the three homes on Burts Pit Road trace to 1996, when the property was deeded to Northampton Housing Authority with the intention of developing it into affordable housing. Previously, the property had been part of the now-demolished Northampton State Hospital.

But the Housing Authority lacked the resources to develop the property at the time, and the project fell into limbo. In 2016, the property was relinquished back to the state, and legislation was filed to transfer ownership to the city, a feat that was not accomplished until 2020.

In keeping with Habitat for Humanity’s mission to provide greater sustainability, the all-electric homes utilize heat pumps and solar panels to provide heat and cooling to the house and keep the price of utilities low.

“If we’re building affordable homes for low-income buyers, but they can’t afford their utility bills, we sort of missed the mark,” said Megan McDonough executive director for Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity. “We’re still building simple, durable homes, but we’re prioritizing those choices that make them energy-efficient and looking towards all-electric.”

Following the completion of the three homes, a dedication ceremony was held on Sept 8. to celebrate the occasion, with city and state officials along with the volunteers who worked on the homes present to mark the occasion.

“I have had the privilege of volunteering at this site with my daughter and have seen firsthand the legions of individuals who are needed to make each home a reality,” said state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa at the ceremony, who also stated that the legislation to transfer the property’s ownership to the city was the very first piece of legislation she filed in the State House. “This speaks to how committed we are to making Northampton a place where people can afford to live and address the housing crisis.”

Lamountain-Costigan closed the deal on her home on Wednesday and has already moved most of the family’s belongings in. She says she plans to put a scrapbook together documenting the entire construction process from start to finish, and also plans to continue volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in the near future.

“It was an amazing thing to see all of the volunteers in here,” she said. “I want to continue to be a part of that.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.