Khalid Mohammed and his family were living in a downtown Columbia Housing Authority apartment when a friend welcomed Mohammed into his Habitat for Humanity home.

After the visit, Mohammed decided to apply for a home through Show-Me Central Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit organization that does not charge interest on the homes it sells, allowing homeowners to pay off their homes in 20 years. Those factors were important to Mohammed, who works as a city bus driver, and his wife, Dunia Karim. The monthly mortgage payment for their home at Habitat�s Daycrew Loop site in south Columbia is $550, about $150 more than the rent at their old apartment.

Habitat for Humanity hopes to build 125 to 150 new homes � similar to those on Daycrew Loop � on a 50-acre property east of Brown Station Road and west of the Paris Road and Highway 63 intersection. Purchasing the land is dependent on rezoning of various tracts, said Bill View, Show-Me Central Habitat for Humanity executive director.

Columbia Community Development Director Tim Teddy said the land is zoned M-R for research, development and office spaces and M-1 for industrial uses. Crockett Engineering Consultants sent a letter to Teddy in mid-December on behalf of Habitat and the current land owner, EMT4, LLC, requesting the land be re-zoned to R-1 for residential use.

The rezoning request likely will come before the Columbia City Council for final approval by the end of February, Teddy said.

The need for more affordable housing has been an ongoing issue for city and community leaders and is included in the city�s strategic plan with an objective to increase the number of affordable, energy-efficient homes in Columbia. The Columbia Chamber of Commerce also jointly listed affordable housing and workforce development among its seven local government priorities for 2017. A 1.3-acre tract on Lynn Street will be the site of an affordable housing project with homes built by the city, Habitat for Humanity, Job Point and Central Missouri Community Action.

Aside from the rezoning, View said there are other contingencies to the land purchase agreement, but he would not give specifics. Once the purchase goes through, he said, he would share more information. Adam Patchett, a Columbia lawyer and registered agent for EMT4, LLC, declined to comment.

Home price tags might be $115,000 to $130,000, View said. Monthly mortgage payments might be $500 to $525, which also includes tax and insurance costs. Many homeowners find the price appealing because it is less than they pay for rent, View said.

Mohammed, who immigrated to the United States from Iraq in 2009, said Habitat for Humanity serves a need.

�It�s a good program for people whose salary is not like other people, they just work,� Mohammed said.

Applicants go through a screening process that includes background and credit checks. Approved homeowners must put in 250 �sweat equity� hours helping to build their homes, which View said typically takes six months to a year to complete. View said the local Habitat organization has built 145 homes since 1988.

The new homes could be built in phases, but construction plans have not been developed because the project is in the early stages, View said.

Habitat for Humanity typically builds up to nine homes annually with the help of volunteer labor. Homes at the new site might have three to five bedrooms, two bathrooms and a one-car garage. On average, Habitat homes are about 1,250 square feet, View said.

Habitat for Humanity also builds homes with energy efficiency in mind, View said. Cost-saving features include 6-inch walls for more insulation and energy-efficient furnaces and air-conditioning units.