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Jesuit=20
Journeys
Spring/Summer=20
2001
Building A Dream for the Future
Be it an AIDS orphanage, a hospice, =
a central=20
city school, a neighborhood job training center, or =
even a=20
complex satellite communications network, the Jesuit =
tradition=20
is rich with the efforts of men who followed an idea =
and=20
developed exciting, new ministries. With help from a =
former=20
student, Br. Mike Wilmot, SJ may be heading down a =
similar=20
path on Omaha's North Side.=20
By Phil Nero
Br. Mike =
Wilmot, SJ=20
trudges up a snow-slick path to a =
structure-in-progress, the=20
current stage of which resembles a two-story bunker. =
Passing=20
through a makeshift plywood door, he is greeted inside =
the=20
roofless building by Roger Buck, a local carpenter. =
They=20
discuss a minor problem with setting the interior =
floor=20
joists, agree on a solution, and resume=20
work.
Br. Jerry =
Peltz, SJ=20
joins them later, and they update him on the job for =
which=20
this trio is the main building crew - a new home on =
Lafayette=20
Street on Omaha's north side.
![3D"Building](3D"http://www.jesuitswisprov.org/jesuit_journeys/2001SpringSummer/ima=)
Br. Wilmot (left =
picture)=20
reviews blueprints with Phillip McKeone, president of =
Daedalus=20
Construction, who is financing the project. Br. Peltz =
and Buck=20
(right picture) frame out a section of studs for an =
interior=20
wall.
Any new home =
construction=20
here would draw attention. Not many people build in=20
neighborhoods in transition. This towering =
residence-to-be,=20
however, draws gawkers not only for where it is being =
built,=20
but how - a little-used method known as tilt-up =
construction=20
said to originate with Thomas=20
Edison.
Design =
involves 15=20
pre-poured concrete panels, each 9 feet wide, 21 feet =
tall,=20
and 9 inches deep. It is a house that would make the =
third=20
little pig green with envy - stronger than brick and =
almost=20
seamless, shutting out the wind and just about any =
other=20
outside threat, including fire. Panels are poured flat =
on the=20
ground in two reinforced layers with insulation set in =
between. A large crane lifts the panels and tilts them =
in=20
place - thus the term tilt-up=20
construction.
If =
Br. Mike=20
and Phillip McKeone, a former student of his, have =
their way,=20
houses like this, and lots of them, will pop up on the =
Omaha=20
central city landscape, leading the way to a central =
city=20
affordable housing renaissance. They have become part =
of the=20
ongoing battle against urban decline faced by cities=20
everywhere. In that sense, they are indeed in a =
bunker, but=20
the outline of a new house is clearly=20
defined.
"This is =
the=20
prototype," says Br. Wilmot. "It's research and =
development,"=20
adds Phil, president of Daedalus Construction, an =
Omaha=20
company specializing in concrete construction. "Once =
we get=20
the wrinkles ironed out, we can figure out a way to =
build them=20
quicker and cheaper. Who knows where it will go after=20
that?"
Their =
vision has a=20
simple plan at its roots. Build one house and recoup =
their=20
expenses. Build another, then another, and another. =
Maybe get=20
HUD (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban =
Development)=20
involved. Think grand, work hard, and pray for =
success. Even=20
as they work on the first unit, they take notes on how =
to=20
improve the next one. For example, they might attach =
the=20
garage so that a poured concrete roof doubles as a=20
patio/deck.
=20
The construction team (right) of Br. Mike Wilmot, SJ =
(left),=20
Roger Buck (center) and Br. Jerry Peltz, SJ is hoping =
they can=20
bring their experimental house in for under $100,000. =
As the=20
photos below show, they work well together at turning =
plans=20
into reality.=20
Br. Mike and Phil go =
back=20
more than 30 years. "Brother was employed at Creighton =
Prep=20
when I was there causing a lot of trouble. And I did =
cause=20
them a lot of trouble. He was in a position of =
authority when=20
I was bucking authority. They probably never should =
have let=20
me get out of that school," says Phil, his words =
fading into=20
laughter.
After =
attending=20
Creighton University, Phil went into business and only =
occasionally did his path cross Br. Mike's, most =
recently=20
around a series of construction projects. His company =
did some=20
work at Prep, built a recent addition to the Jesuit =
Middle=20
School of Omaha, and also a much smaller one at =
Mulumba House,=20
a Jesuit residence near the middle school.
The=20
success of those projects got Br. Mike wondering if =
tilt-up=20
construction might be adapted to produce affordable =
housing.=20
They agreed to experiment with one house on a lot Phil =
owns=20
near Daedalus' main=20
office.
"Concrete is =
as old=20
as the Romans and very versatile. You can make it look =
like=20
fancy marble, pour it into tunnels, make skyscrapers. =
I always=20
liked it," Phil says. "We don't know how practical it =
is for=20
housing, but it is easy to manufacture and readily =
made. And=20
it doesn't burn." That is a feature they hope will =
help reduce=20
insurance =
costs.
"If=20
there's a fire, we clean out the shell and replace =
everything=20
else, but the basic structure will still be there," =
Br. Mike=20
says. The walls are firm, energy efficient, and quiet. =
When a=20
strong wind blows outside a tilt-up wall, inside the =
house is=20
quieter than a Rolls Royce on a new=20
highway.
Their =
intent,=20
however, is not toward luxury. They want to bring a =
durable,=20
no-frills, 2,600 square-foot house onto the market for =
under=20
$100,000. No public money is involved. Phil is willing =
to=20
front financing and materials and "spin that 100 =
[thousand]=20
just as many times and as hard as we can to see what =
happens.=20
It's kind of like bread on the water."
Br. Mike =
oversees construction and keeps the project on as fast =
a track=20
as possible. They're hoping to complete the first =
house before=20
summer, and they already have an interested=20
buyer.
Their optimism =
soars=20
on days when, for instance, bankers show interest in =
financing=20
mortgages. Their dream takes flight when they think of =
building on an open area of cleared city lots, because =
one of=20
the planning issues is positioning a crane to raise =
sections=20
of wall.
=20
The first of what Br. Mike Wilmot, SJ (above) hopes =
will be=20
many new, affordable tilt-up construction homes nears=20
completion in Omaha earlier this spring.
"We may make =
mistakes along=20
the way, but we won't make the same mistake twice and =
we'll=20
learn from everything we do," Phil says. Precision is=20
important because every detail is carved in concrete. =
Every=20
window must be the right size and in the right place. =
Every=20
outlet hole along the interior walls must be preformed =
in=20
exact position, along with passages for the wiring. =
"Wiring=20
and plumbing are both preset, with everything running =
up and=20
down, rather than horizontal" Br. Mike says. When =
Thomas=20
Edison experimented with tilt-up construction he =
didn't have=20
to worry about as many details. Outlets weren't as =
important,=20
because he hadn't yet invented the electric light =
bulb. He=20
didn't have giant cranes to hoist the forms either, so =
devising a new way to illuminate America probably was =
less=20
daunting a challenge than lifting a concrete=20
wall.
Unlike Edison, =
Phil and=20
Br. Mike have a crane and aren't looking to invent =
anything=20
new. However, they wouldn't mind reinventing a way to =
make=20
good housing affordable to more people, raising with =
every=20
section of wall a little hope for the classic American =
dream=20
of home ownership.
To contact Br. Wilmot, =
write him=20
at
Mulumba House, 4308 Grant St.,
Omaha, NE=20
68111-3409
Tel: 402.455.6439
Return=20
to Spring/Summer 2001 issue =20
Previous=20
Article: Province =
News Next=20
Article: My Pilgrimage of=20
Nonviolence
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