Granite kitchen counters are nice, but having a home in any condition is a change of pace for the women and children who will become the first residents of Casa de Meredith in Key West.

The new, $750,000, multi-unit residence for poor and homeless women and children opens today with a ribbon cutting, six months after construction began.

"It's for women who have not been able to come up with a first month, last month and security payment for an apartment," said Elmira Leto, CEO of Samuel's House wome's shelter. "We have seven families and two single women among our first residents. There's also a brand new baby born two weeks ago, and a father and a wife who have been in a shelter for two years -- and now they're going to be a family again."

That's the idea behind the new residence, she said: providing a home for working homeless women at a price they can afford.

"They will pay $850 a month including utilities for the units," Leto said of the two-story building with porches, wood railings and steps in the style of Old Town Key West. "These are working women or working fathers. The rent will pay exactly what our expenses are."

Leto said plans called for more expensive and hardy building materials than one might find in other affordable housing projects. A case in point: granite kitchen counter tops and backsplashes behind sinks.

"If we put in Formica, someone who might not know how to cook might put a hot pot on it and burn it," she said. "The cost of granite was not that much of a difference, so we did everything using materials that would not have to be replaced in a year or two."

The rents will pay for someone to make sure the property runs properly, she said.

"They'll make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to be doing to remain drug-free, not consume alcohol, and those who are supposed to take their medicines, to make sure they're working," Leto said.

By moving 16 residents into Casa de Meredith, the organization frees up rooms and apartments in Kathy's Hope and Samuel's House so homeless women can be moved in from the emergency shelters, she said.

Monroe County Property Appraiser Ervin Higgs and his wife, Sandra, well-known for her work in the community, will be at the opening today. The housing is named after their daughter, Meredith, who was 27 when she was murdered by her boyfriend in 1999.

Also expected at the 11 a.m. ceremony are Samuel's House board of directors, Southernmost Homeless Assistance League members, Key West Mayor Craig Cates and other state and local officials, Leto said.

jguerra@keysnews.com