Picturesque 1.5 acre buildable wooded lot with pond. Minutes from walking trails and high school. Quiet neighborhood. Well and septic system to be installed by current owner.

This description of a Rochester property may sound like a great real estate offering, but it’s actually the latest piece of land donated to the Buzzards Bay Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity, a global nonprofit, builds affordable housing for low-income families. The Buzzards Bay branch works with families in Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Rochester and Wareham; however, the Rochester donation marks the first for that town.

Marion resident Jim Gurney first approached Habitat’s Executive Director Christine Lacourse in April 2012 about donating the land.

“I first started thinking about it when I realized they didn’t have a lot in Rochester,” said Gurney.

The plot, assessed at $125,000, is walking distance to Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School and was part of a larger property that Gurney purchased in 1954. He and his family lived there for 38 years before he relocated to Marion in the 90s.

Gurney, 83, has fond memories of the property. "I would walk down form the house with cracked corn down to the pond...and throw some corn out for the ducks," he said.

Gurney, who grew up in Freetown, is a former chair of the Marion Open Space Committee and has long been a friend to Habitat. Several years ago, he helped the organization to acquire a lot owned by Marion at 185 Wareham Road.

That property, Habitat's first in Marion, is currently waiting on state approval that will solidify its status as affordable housing. After jumping through “a few more hoops,” Lacourse said Habitat hopes to break ground on that home in the spring.

For the new Rochester property, which Gurney officially signed over to Habitat in November, a well and septic system need to be added before building permits can be acquired, said George McTurk, a former Habitat board president.

Engineer Rick Charon of Charon Associates in Rochester has already walked the land and will help install the systems at a reduced rate, McTurk said.

Habitat also spoke with Rochester-based architect Claude Miquelle about the layout of the house. Due to the sloped property, it will most likely be a three-bedroom ranch style house with a full walk out basement in the back.

Several years ago, Habitat received a $5,000 grant from Makepeace Foundation for a Rochester project. The funds have already helped with the legal documents for transferring ownership of the property.

Community involvement is a key part of Habitat’s work as volunteers contribute their expertise and help build each home.

For the Marion house, students from Old Colony worked with architect Will Saltonstall on plans.

“We can have them definitely get involved in this one and in the construction as well,” Lacourse said.

In addition to volunteers, Lacourse said potential homeowners help out with the build.

The applicant must live or work in one of the towns that the Buzzards Bay chapter serves.

“There has to be a severity of need,” said Lacourse.

Once a family is chosen, the future owners must contribute 300 sweat equity hours to the project and partner with Habitat through a low or no cost home loan.

“The purpose of Habitat is to provide affordable housing. Without land we can’t do it, so Jim is making that possible with the first Rochester home. It’s very exciting for everybody involved in Habitat,” McTurk said.

For now the project is still in the first steps, though Lacourse said she expects the project in Rochester will get underway faster than the Marion build as the land was private property, as opposed to town-owned.

As Lacourse and the board of directors work on details for both projects, they’re still keeping an eye out for other properties – especially in Mattapoisett where the organization has yet to build.

“We’re going to work on that next,” said McTurk.