Two Westport families who would otherwise be unable to afford quality housing here will soon be the proud homeowners, thanks to the Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity, the Town of Westport and as-yet unnamed army of volunteer carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other tradespeople.

Habitat broke ground just over a week ago on a new duplex at a wooded five-acre tract of land just opposite 658 Sodom Road, ceremoniously turning over the sod to mark the project's start. When done, the two two-story units will sell for $170,000 each, less than one third of the typical home value in Westport, which according to Zillow is $510,374. The 1,500-square-foot units will also be a true sign of a community working together, Habitat's executive director Christine Lacourse said Monday:

"It takes a whole community to build our homes," she said. "Subcontractors, builders who donate or discount, volunteers, who want to help out — there are many different people involved. It's a community of kindness that makes our projects work."

This is the first such project in Westport since Habitat's Buzzards Bay office added Westport to its territory a few years ago. Ms. Lacourse said Habitat received a warm welcome when they first started collaborating with the Community Preservation Committee and Westport Housing Trust, and those organizations were instrumental in finding and funding the purchase of the five-acre mostly wooded tract. It lies about halfway between Route 81 and 88, just under a mile south of Devol Pond.

"They donated the property," Ms. Lacourse said. "Without that, we would have been able to do this project."

Since then, Habitat has partnered with other organizations that will make the homes as desirable as any they've done in the surrounding area. With financial assistance from Mayflower Wind and low interest mortgages from BayCoast Bank, the homes will be largely "passive" from an energy standpoint, meaning they will be built to have extremely low energy consumption while still being comfortable in hot summers and cold winters.

There is still some time to go before the homes are ready. The site has been cleared, and Habitat is waiting for a well to be dug. Once that is done and the water has been found to be acceptable, Habitat will file a foundation permit, and then start framing up the homes.

Ms. Lacourse expects that phase will begin in the late fall, and she anticipates an 18-month total buildout.

Habitat is the world's largest non-profit builder, and a crucial part of its mission is serving the local community. To that end, only those in its local coverage area — Westport, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Rochester and Wareham — can apply for one of the units.

Residents must also meet strict guidelines: They must earn between 30 and 60 percent of the area's median income, which works out to $25,000 to $50,000 total annual income. And there must be a "severity of need," Ms. Lacourse said, meaning they spend an inordinate amount of their income on housing, or live in inadequate facilities. They must be United States citizens, and all must contribute 300 hours of sweat equity into the project.

Then, once they own one of the properties, deed restrictions will ensure that the homes stay affordable in the coming years.

"We really do hope that we get an outpouring of applications," Ms. Lacourse said. "Our mission is to build homes, community and hope."