With its triplex on downtown's Wheeler Street set to be finished this spring, Habitat for Humanity Yukon is already getting to work on plans for its next project.

The group offers interest-free mortgages to those who don't qualify for a conventional mortgage. It will begin taking applications later this month for those looking to purchase one of the units in the Ingram triplex the group plans to break ground on in August.

Late last year, the Yukon Housing Corp. announced it would donate Lot 135 in the new subdivision next to Arkell, to Habitat for a new SuperGreen energy-efficient triplex.

Designs are still being worked out, and exactly what the units will look like will depend on the housing needs of the applicants selected, Sharon Hickey, who chairs the local Habitat's family selection committee, said in an interview Wednesday.

Habitat works with each family selected to identify what internal features the family needs in terms of the number of bedrooms, accessibility and other qualities the home will need.

What the triplex will look like in the end isn't known. Hickey noted it won't have the same exterior design as the Phoenix Rising – the Wheeler Street triplex the group is finishing up – because the lot in Ingram doesn't allow for it to be built that way.

Also undetermined is how much each mortgage will be for the Ingram units.

Factors such as land costs (in this case, donated at a value of $51,500), building materials and labour all contribute to the final cost for each owner in Habitat projects.

With the land donated, owners of the Ingram units will have mortgage payments based on the cost of labour and building materials.

In some cases, Habitat also gets donations of labour and materials with local volunteers and future owners involved in the construction.

Yukon College is planning to use the triplex to provide hands-on training for its pre-employment carpentry and mechanical trade programs, with Yukon Housing providing technical advice on the project.

This will bring the number of homes Habitat has built in the city up to nine since the local chapter was established in 2003, with heavy involvement by Todd Hardy, the late former NDP MLA for Whitehorse Centre. Among them are a single-family home, a duplex and the Wheeler Street triplex.

Applications for the Ingram properties will only be available through the public presentations at the Whitehorse Public Library next Thursday at 7 p.m. and Feb. 20 at 1 p.m.

Attending one of the presentations is mandatory to apply. Hickey noted applicants must also show their need for housing and be able to make the mortgage payments.

Those who have submitted previous applications for Habitat homes and weren't selected won't automatically be reconsidered, but Hickey said they may reapply, and Habitat has contacted them to let them know about it.

"We'd like to see as many as possible,” Hickey said of the number of applications Habitat expects, noting the non-profit group's desire to provide much needed housing in the city.