The wrecking crew was out on North Day Street last week to tear down an uninhabitable home and make room for a new, affordable single-family one.

Mountain Spirit Habitat for Humanity, which serves Park County, is taking applications for qualified families to become homeowners. The application window is open until Oct. 15.

Nikki Hoellwarth, executive director of Mountain Spirit, said after that date, they will begin screening applications and select a family by early December. The process to apply is quite involved.

“It’s like applying for a home loan,” Hoellwarth said.

There’s an extensive, 60-page packet that must be filled out with information about income, ability to pay and residency. The organization held meetings in early September to explain the process to interested applicants.

Hoellwarth said she doesn’t want to turn anyone away who might qualify, so she will make time to do a presentation for those who missed the meetings. But interested applicants shouldn’t delay, she urged.

Through the winter, Mountain Spirit will be doing administrative planning while they wait for the build season in spring. This includes drawing site plans and obtaining permits. If all goes as planned, the nonprofit organization will break ground in the spring and hand over the keys in August or September 2020.

“Then we can start the process all over again for the next build,” Hoellwarth said.

At last week’s demolition, Hoellwarth and a dozen volunteers turned out to watch the abandoned house torn down; she hopes even more volunteers arrive for the groundbreaking in spring.

“Volunteers are the heart and soul of what we do. We will need all of the manpower we can get come to groundbreaking day,” she said.

The Moyer Foundation, Ellbogen Foundation and First Bank have supported the project financially, and Hoellwarth said this provided about half the funding they need to complete the home construction. She is hoping further fundraising efforts will solicit the rest.

“We are hopeful that when people see action on the build site, monetary support from the community will start rolling in to lead us to the finish line,” she said.

The house will be the first the organization has built in Powell since 2007.

“We are due,” Hoellwarth said.

The demolished house was damaged by a fire in March 2017, probably caused by a short in a light fixture inside a furnace closet. No injuries were reported in the fire.