Volunteers Turn Wyandotte House Into a Home

“Our main goal is to turn a house into a home.”

That’s the motto used by the Wyandotte Community Alliance, a nonprofit group dedicated to enhancing the city’s neighborhoods.

And thanks to the handful of volunteers who spend hundreds of hours every year pounding nails, laying flooring and hosting open houses, the group has another success story they’re ready to reveal.

After about a year of work, the 117-year-old home at 303 Maple, known to some as the Labadie Home, has been completely refurbished and is ready to go on the market.

The home was built in 1894 and belonged to Antoine Labadie, a French farmer and politician. It used to sit at 150 Spruce, but had to be moved in September 2010 to make way for a medical office building.

The house was moved to an empty lot at the southwest corner of Maple and Third streets after barely escaping the wrecking ball. Several people banded together at the time to convince city officials not to demolish the house because of its historic ties.

The city’s Tax Increment Finance Authority agreed to chip in $150,000 with the understanding that the alliance would fund the rest of the work. The $150,000 paid to move the house and to build a basement and install a geothermal heating and cooling system at the new location.

The alliance put another $121,000 into the house, for a total project cost of $271,000. The house is listed with a sales price of $250,000.

Take a Peek Inside

A covered, wrap-around front porch with historic wood rails, spindles and spandrels gives the house instant curb appeal.

The front door leads immediately to a receiving room, with a connecting parlor. A fireplace that dates back more than 100 years lights up the parlor. The fireplace has a new gas insert with original tile and wood mantle.

The rooms have 9-feet ceilings, with original wood floor molding and plaster cove moldings. All of the original floors, including hardwood throughout the first floor, also remain intact throughout the house.

The first floor also houses a dining room, a den, a half bath, and a large kitchen with a walk-in pantry and separate breakfast room. Energy Star appliances are already installed in the kitchen.

Off the kitchen is a back porch entry, which leads out to a cement pad for either a garage or parking.

A wooden staircase leads to the upstairs, where there are four bedrooms with full closets, a laundry room, a linen closet and a spacious bathroom.

All of the original doors and fixtures remain, with the exception of one new door installed upstairs.

When the house was moved to its current location, only four of the original spindles were in place for the wooden staircase.

Lee Williams, president of the alliance, is a woodworker by hobby and was able to replicate the original spindles to recreate the full staircase. 

A retired banker, Williams served as project manager for this home, and did most of the interior work himself, including all the trim work, door mountings and cabinet installations.

His wife, Lora, did all of the woodwork and staining.

“It’s a great home that we really enjoyed working with,” Lee Williams said. "We're really happy with how everything has turned out."

The house, which has more than 3,000 square feet of living space, also has a fully insulated attic and a full basement. The basement is already plumbed for a bathroom to be installed. There’s also a rear walk-out entrance, allowing the basement to legally be used as a separate living space.

Volunteers Make the Program a Success

The Wyandotte Community Alliance dates back to 1984 and has worked on projects all over the city.

Corki Benson, a licensed builder, is the group’s facilitator. She is the only paid employee and takes on many of the roles that someone building a house would.

“I coordinate with the city, do all of the paperwork, work with engineering and make sure all of the inspections get done,” she said. "What the alliance doesn't do ourselves, we hire contractors for."

The nine people who sit on the board of directors are all volunteers and include an architect, an attorney, two engineers and several retirees with professional backgrounds.

“I always tell people that our main goal is to turn a house into a home,” Benson said. “And we’ve done that here. … You walk into some places that they’re selling and they don’t feel homey. They look just like a house. My job is to make it into a home.”

She does that by staging the rooms, hosting open houses and baking fresh cookies so the smell of a kitchen welcomes visitors when they enter the house.

“We want you to walk in and be able to envision this as your home,” Benson said.

Every house that the alliance has ever taken on has sold, Benson said. That’s something she prides herself in.

“It’s nice to be able to work where everybody is as interested as I am in enhancing the neighborhoods,” she said. “It’s always been my goal to turn houses into homes. This job gives me the ability to do that.”

The proceeds from each house sold by the alliance are put back into the program and are used to rehabilitate the next house. The group typically only takes on one house a time, Benson said.

While the alliance’s latest house hasn’t yet had an official open house, Benson said, it’s already attracted the interest of potential buyers.

“There’s been five or six people here more than three times during this building process,” she said. “They’ve been here when we had no walls and they came back. We put up the walls and they came back again. We carpeted the upstairs and they came back again. …

“They’re not here to see the nails going into the walls. They’re here because they’re interested in living in this area and they might be interested in living in this home.”

Those who want to see the house for themselves are invited to one of four upcoming open houses. They’re set for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 4 and 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 5.

Because of the house’s location in downtown Wyandotte, Benson said, she has some words of advice for potential buyers.

“Whoever lives here needs to be a social person,” she said. “Anything that happens in Wyandotte can be seen from this corner. It’s a very busy, fun place to be.”

Benson is set to give a PowerPoint presentation, including before and after pictures, at Monday night’s City Council meeting, on the second floor of Her presentation is slated to start the 7 p.m. meeting.

For more information on the house, call Benson at 734-626-5485.