December 13, 2010; Source: Detroit News | It looks like the post office isn’t the only one that’s not going to let the cold or snow of winter deter it from its mission. The Macomb Habitat for Humanity has decided to keep building through the coming cold weather, a reflection of the heated demand for homes.

Throughout its history, the nonprofit group, located north of Detroit in Mount Clemens, Mich., has put down its hammers and saws during the winter. But according to the Detroit News, for the first time ever, it plans to keep crews building and refurbishing homes for its low-income clients. “We have so many projects to get done, and they all couldn’t get done in the four or five months of good weather we had,” said Karan Bates-Gasior, Macomb Habitat for Humanity’s program director. “We need to keep building to make sure we stay on track.”

To show the group’s seriousness about the task at hand and the real need for homes, nearly 100 volunteers from Habitat for Humanity, General Motors and Delphi Corp., an auto parts maker, turned out last weekend to put up walls, trusses and roofs for three homes.

Macomb Habitat’s Bates-Gaisor says the demand for affordable shelter has “forced us to be year-round builders.” In just the past year alone, the group has built 12 homes and refurbished 15. The cost of a typical home, which sells for no profit, is $100,000. Purchasers also receive interest-free mortgages.—Bruce Trachtenberg