Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis broke ground Tuesday, Sept. 23, on a 52-home development at 190 Chelsea Ave. in North Memphis.

The nonprofit announced plans to build the semi-attached single-family homes on 3 vacant acres in Uptown within the next 24 months.

“The project will mark our biggest planned development in the history of our organization,” said Dwayne Spencer, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis. “This is the future of Memphis Habitat.”

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The $13.3 million community development will be divided into three phases, starting with infrastructure work throughout five months, then Habitat will build 25 homes throughout 18 months and then complete the other 27 homes.

The timeline is a projection and is subject to change, according to the nonprofit.

Spencer said they have begun prepping for infrastructure work.

The 1,600-square-foot homes will include three or four bedrooms and two bathrooms, according to the plans.

Each house will also feature granite countertops, custom white cabinetry, waterproof flooring, stainless steel appliances and accessible features, including wider doors.

Spencer said this is the first Habitat Memphis project that includes semi-attached homes because the parcel would only allow for 15 full single-family houses.

“We’ve been listening to the community, and we’ve heard these terms, ‘density.’ ... We try to squeeze in as much as possible on the smallest piece of land,” Spencer said. “That is our goal here.”

Spencer expects the homes to be priced from $205,000 to $210,000 with 0% interest. He expects the monthly payments to be from $900 to $950.

Construction for each house will cost $200,000, Spencer said.

“Once these start rising from the ground, we go vertical, there’s going to be a huge appetite for them,” Spencer said. “We’re very committed to Uptown and to North Memphis, and we plan to be here for the long term.”

Habitat Memphis bought the land in 2023 for $150,000 from Hope Church, which partners with the nonprofit on similar development projects, Spencer said.

Rev. Rufus Smith of Hope Church said they bought the property in 2019 with hopes of developing the land into affordable homes. He said the church decided to sell the land four years later to Habitat Memphis for the project.

“We are delighted that we have the opportunity to partner with (Habitat Memphis),” Smith said. “We are looking forward to families’ lives being changed as well.”

Habitat Memphis also announced a $62 million capital campaign called Framing the Future to support 150 new affordable homes, 1,250 senior-home repairs, $8 million in land acquisition and $3 million in technology, staff and facilities.

Spencer said the nonprofit has already raised $47 million of the $62 million campaign. The estimation of funds left to raise is based on commitments and pledges already received, pending requests and projected funding, according to the nonprofit.

The campaign received $5 million from FedEx, $2.5 million from Assisi Foundation of Memphis, $2 million from the City of Memphis and $500,000 from First Horizon.

“We spend a lot of time at FedEx talking about return on investment, and we believe this is an incredible return on investment,” said Brie Carere, chief customer officer for FedEx. “FedEx is incredibly proud to be one of the lead corporate sponsors of this exciting new campaign.”