Adapting: Warrendale home builder adapting to construction cutbacks amid coronavirus

Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways a global coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania.

Matt Moritz is still working as coronavirus spreads across the world.

The 39-year-old Marshall man is president of Eddy Homes, a Warrendale-based family home building business.

The covid-19 pandemic has forced the business to drastically cut back on its operations and lay off some of its 40 employees, but Moritz is seeking help through state and federal programs designed to get small businesses through these tough times.

He also is seeking a waiver to continue some of Eddy’s operations because housing is a basic human need, Moritz said.

Eddy has about 40 building projects underway. One was finished on a recent afternoon, hours after a deal closed on the customer’s former house, Moritz said.

Many of Eddy’s customers are older people who are living in temporary housing as they await the home they’ve commissioned Eddy to build, Moritz said.

“Our people want to work. Our customers want to get into their houses,” he said. “It’s a challenge. We want to keep our people safe, our families safe. Everyone is trying to stay safe and sane at the same time.”

Trying to strike a balance between staying healthy and keeping a business afloat is difficult, Moritz said.

“It’s difficult for everyone,” he said.

Eddy Homes was founded in 1971 by Moritz’s grandfather, Edward “Eddy” Moritz. The family has been building houses for decades longer than that, dating to the 1920s.

Edward Moritz is 93 and living in an assisted-care facility.

In January, “they had the flu really bad,” his grandson said. Edward Moritz had a severe case of the flu, but has since recovered.

“He certainly understands the importance of trying to slow this all down,” Matt Moritz said of his grandfather and the coronavirus.

The younger Moritz said he can’t help but worry about his grandfather’s health and he’s concerned for his wife, Kristen, who is an attorney currently working from home and watching their three young children.

“I mostly just feel bad for my wife. She’s at home trying to keep the kids under control, which isn’t easy to do,” Matt Moritz said.

They had relied on Kristen’s mother for child care, but they’ve limited contact with her to curb the potential for spreading the virus, Moritz said.

In addition to those worries are the ones involving Eddy Homes and its future after nearly 50 years in business.

“We’ve shut down our sales centers,” Moritz said. “We have really good people. We don’t want to lose them, but it’s obviously a tough time right now.”