News & Views

February 13, 2010

First affordable housing completed on Sanibel Island

Contributed by Community Housing & Resources

Community Housing & Resources Inc. (CHR), which serves as the city of Sanibel Island’s housing foundation, celebrated the completion of its 14 newest homes on Feb. 6.

These homes are the latest addition to Sanibel’s affordable housing program and introduce limited-equity ownership to the program. The neighborhood consists of eight limited-equity home ownership units and six Below Market Rate Housing (BMRH) rental units in duplex configuration.

Nationwide Homes, in association with CHR’s Project Manager Rick Kennedy and his team, constructed this neighborhood for 14 working families on Sanibel.

Centre Place is the first Florida Green and LEED-certified project on Sanibel (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a federal designation). Overall, these features will reduce utility costs (electricity, water) by 30 to 40 percent.

In addition, the project was built using subcontractors and suppliers that have a long history of working on Sanibel. Kennedy Construction, which managed the project, is a family-owned company on Sanibel for 33 years.

This 2.4-acre site was purchased by CHR from a private owner in 1990 by means of a $100,000 loan from the city of Sanibel, which has been repaid. Financing was provided by a grant from the State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) for $500,000, a grant from the HOME Investment Partnership Program for over $98,000, and a construction loan through the Sanibel-Captiva Community Bank.

CHR — which is also celebrating its 30th anniversary serving the city of Sanibel — now has an inventory that includes 98 homes, 88 of which are owned by CHR in partnership with the city of Sanibel, plus an additional 10 homes that are part of the Below Market Rate Housing program through a management arrangement with the owners of the properties.

From Naples News

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