Affordable Rentals & Housing Programs on Sanibel Island, Florida FL
Sanibel
CHR, Community Housing and Resources, Inc., is a non-profit private
corporation which develops housing and programs with the purpose
of providing affordable housing for persons who work on Sanibel
but can't afford to live there, and for longtime residents who can
no longer afford Sanibel rents.
CHR was created by a group of Sanibel residents who had been striving
for several years to find a solution for the growing need for affordable
housing. At the same time, the City of Sanibel was looking at ways
to accomplish the same goal.
In 2007, CHR will complete its 24th year as Sanibel’s Housing
Foundation, responsible for the operation of the Below
Market Rate Housing (BMRH) program which provides affordable
housing opportunities to many individuals and families who otherwise
could not afford to live in Sanibel. In turn, the BMRH program helps
maintain diversity in age and income in the Sanibel community.
Having affordable housing opportunities near Sanibel employees’
jobs can help attract and retain qualified workers for a variety
of positions to the island. Sanibel has low unemployment and high
competition for the same potential employees. Having island employees
living close to their work sites on Sanibel would also provide enhanced
services to the community, especially in emergency situations. In
turn, employees would spend less time and money on an often lengthy
commute and would allow them to be residents of and participants
in the Sanibel community. Retention of qualified and skilled workers
would also significantly lessen the costs associated with employee
turn-over and training.
For some time local, state and national media have reported about
the increasing difficulty many people and families have in locating
housing they can afford. Sanibel’s Below Market Rate Housing
program continues to do its part to help address this need by providing
affordable housing for many persons and families of low and very
low income. CHR believes deeply in the critical value of BMRH to
those who are less affluent, and also to the Sanibel community as
a whole.
View videos from our latest workforce housing construction project: