Time Check family gets new home from C.R. homebuilder

CEDAR RAPIDS -- In the flood-ravaged Time Check neighborhood, Randy and Donna Hanson stood out amid the grime and muck.

"They were working every day when no one else was," local homebuilder Randy Dostal said. "And they were smiling."

Through hard work and faith, the Hansons had turned their neglected, pre-flood property at Eighth Street and K Avenue NW into a loving, stable and hopeful home for more than 30 foster children in a six-year period.

"We have a lot of love," Donna Hanson said.

The historic flood changed the physical nature of the Hansons' home, and tore holes in the psyche of the neighborhood.

They could have moved on. But there they were, day after day, rebuilding in one of the most heavily flood-damaged neighborhoods when not many others were.

"You just can't give up, no matter how much it hurts," said Randy Hanson, 48, a former Marine who works as a locksmith at John's Lock and Key in Cedar Rapids. "You've just got to keep going."

And the Hansons got noticed, particularly by Dostal, whose family owns Thomas Dostal Developers.

And now, four months after a chance conversation and as the mountain of post-flood challenges grew, dozens of local contractors and suppliers are helping build the Hansons a brand new home for free.

A house becomes a home

The Hansons moved into the Time Check neighborhood in 2000, when they purchased a white, two-story home. On what was clearly a neglected property, Donna Hanson, 51, a stay-at-home mom who used to run a day care, saw potential.

Together, the Hansons, who both have back ailments, poured their life into the home.

They took out walls, rebuilt staircases and gave a face-lift to nearly everything.

The more they worked, the more they questioned what they were doing. But they kept going.

Along the way, they became licensed foster parents, and today care for five children: three adopted and two foster kids.

As the family grew, work continued around the house. New French doors were hung, and a bay window was in the garage, ready for installation. The kids rejoiced when Randy brought home a new 52-inch TV.

Less than a month later, the most destructive flood in Cedar Rapids' history ruined it all.

Won't give up

Shelter was the Hansons' first priority post-flood. They spent 11 days in a hotel before finding a quaint rental house near Kingston Stadium.

When the Hansons returned to their home on Eighth Street NW, they found the refrigerator on its side and food strewn about. Toys that had been in the basement were now upstairs.

Donna, who had two family members also impacted by the flood, struggled to keep her emotions in check.

"I can't tell you how many times I said, 'Let's just walk away'... 'Let's just give up,'" she said.

With support from friends and family, the couple pushed forward. They decided to rebuild.

"I liked the neighborhood," Donna Hanson said. "I wanted my babies to be raised there."

They had spent 10 days dealing with debris when Dostal, the local homebuilder, stopped to see Brett Kruse, who was tearing siding off the Hansons' home.

Dostal had worked with Kruse, a shop manager at Kelly Concrete, on projects in the past.

"This is my mom's place," Kruse told Dostal. "We've got to help them out."

'Got to keep going'

Many of Dostal's colleagues in new home construction had started brainstorming ways to help the community recover. The same day he chatted with Kruse, Dostal introduced himself to Randy Hanson.

Dostal asked Hanson how his family would like a new home.

"What's the cost?" Hanson asked Dostal.

"No cost," Dostal replied.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch."

"Well, how definite is it?"

"It's not."

"Well, I've got to keep going."

"By all means."

The Hansons knew nothing was guaranteed, and kept restoring the home.

It was the end of July -- nearly time for insulation and drywall -- when Randy found a crack in a wall upstairs. Later, he found wider fractures in the basement floor, and a spot on the main floor that had sunk about half an inch.

"What's next?" Randy thought to himself.

Everyone asked pitches in

After meeting the Hansons, Dostal called the Greater Cedar Rapids Area Homebuilders Association to get things started. With help, he contacted around 40 local contractors and suppliers.

Everyone who was asked agreed to help.

"We saw a need to change some of the psychology down there, because nothing was going on," Dostal said.

To handle the donations, Dostal started a non-profit called the Cedar Rapids Renaissance Group.

As part of the deal, he had the Hansons go through financial counseling. The Hansons restructured the mortgage for the old home, which they will continue to pay off.

It started with one step

Demolition of the old house began at the end of September. Construction started on the new three-bedroom, 1,326-square-foot house a few days later.

"It's been almost too easy," Dostal says.

The Hansons had already put in a new furnace, a water heater, carpet and bathroom fixtures. Knowing they wouldn't need to keep them for the new house, they donated them to other flood victims.

Today, the sounds of new construction ring out from that same corner lot in the Time Check neighborhood. The fresh lumber is a stark contrast to the dozens of dark, gloomy-looking homes that surround it.

"I still feel like I'm dreaming," Randy Hanson said.

Dostal is hoping the new house will be done by Christmas. But even more than that, he hopes it will breathe hope into the neighborhood.

"Every journey starts with a step," Dostal said. "So we said, let's take a step."