Thirteen insurance companies teamed up to build a home in Tri-County Partners Habitat for Humanity’s development in Pasco.

Joe Peterson of Joe Peterson Insurance came up with the idea for the Insurance House project, said Lisa Godwin, executive director for Habitat.

The insurance build program was “a wonderful way for insurance businesses in the area to come together to give back to the community. Habitat is all about community helping community and with our current capital campaign, titled ‘The Power of One,’ this gives an example of the power of each of individual insurance agent and the power of them giving back,” she said.

The new homes in the White House Addition are under construction to provide low-income housing for qualified families in the Tri-Cities. So far, four of the development’s 24 homes are completed.

The cost for the development is $3.4 million, which includes the four acres near the corner of Lewis and Oregon streets near Marie Curie STEM School.

The 1,100-square-foot, one-story homes feature three and four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Each home also has an attached one-stall garage.

Some of the homes were built on slabs and some have crawl spaces.

The typical sale price for the homes is $150,000 with a monthly payment of about $700. The cost to build them is $96,000.

Families must partner with Habitat by providing 500 “sweat equity” hours. They also have to go through Habitat’s qualification process for a 20-year, no-interest mortgage.

Habitat was able to pay for land and infrastructure thanks to two grants: one from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the other from Tri-Cities HOME Consortium.

Habitat oversees the construction by providing two construction staff on site with a volunteer coordinator working closely with volunteers on site.

Habitat hires four licensed contractors which include plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and flatwork. All other work is done by volunteers or volunteer groups.

The development’s completion date is January 2019.

Tri-County Partners Habitat for Humanity: 509-943-5555, habitatbuilds.com, Facebook.