NATCHEZ — New Hope Missionary Baptist Church’s vision is becoming a reality made of wood and nails.

The church hosted the official groundbreaking for 10-unit Washington Apartment complex adjacent to the church’s location on Morgantown Road.

Church pastor Bishop Stanley Searcy said the ceremony and construction of the complex has been five years in the making.

“Our vision is to not just be a church preaching behind a podium,” Searcy said. “We believe our mission should serve the mind, body and spirit.”

The units at will be three-bedroom, two bath units available for low and very low income families. The complex will also have a playground.

The project includes the construction of two quadplex housing units and one duplex unit.

The complex is projected to be complete in six months.

Project consultant Bobby Rayburn, of Rayburn and Associates of Jackson, said the church operates a not-for-profit organization which allows it to apply for and accept grant monies to help fund the apartment project. The church is also an authorized Mississippi Development Authority Community Housing Development Organization.

The church will use two grants from the MDA Home Investment Partnerships Program totaling $889,000 and a $240,000 loan from Britton & Koontz bank to complete the construction project.

“Anytime you make a nearly $1.2 million investment in the community, it is a big deal,” Rayburn said.

Searcy said the project was born out of the church’s commitment to the community and its residents.

“Housing is very slim in southwest Mississippi,” Searcy said. “We see this complex as beneficial to the community by providing housing to sections of the community that struggle to find affordable, quality housing.”

Searcy said there is also potential for employment with the new complex, as people will be needed to manage and provide lawn care and maintenance at the complex.

“This is an investment in the people of our area,” Searcy said.

Rayburn said complexes like the one being built often allow families a kick-start for other positive life changes.

“This is a good ground work for supporting and making a difference in the lives of families,” Rayburn said. “This is the type of project that can help families become upwardly mobile.”

Two of the units will be available for family’s making 50 percent or less of the median family income for Adams County, adjusted for family size. The remaining eight will be leased to families making 60 percent or less than the median family income for Adams County, adjusted for family size.

The median family income for a family of four in Adams County is approximately $42,200, Rayburn said.

After construction is complete, MDA will do a walk-through inspection of the facility. After a successful walk-through, Searcy said he hopes to begin the process of building a second phase of the complex.

“We hope this is just the start of this investment in the community,” he said.

Rayburn said the second phase would be a mirror-image of the first complex.