Alachua Habitat for Humanity, Communities that Care Community Land Trust and the North Central Florida Foundation for Affordable Housing are collaborating to expand their ability to create affordable housing solutions in North Central Florida.
“We are working together and looking for ways to help each other,” said Scott Winzeler, chief outreach and development officer at Alachua Habitat for Humanity. “There is a critical need for affordable housing in Alachua County.”
Winzeler referred to a study by the Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing Studies at the University of Florida, which estimates that one of every three non-student households in the area is cost burdened, paying more than 30% of their income for housing, and one of every seven households are severely cost burdened, paying more than 50% of their income for housing.
The Shimberg Center for Housing Studies was established at UF in 1988 to promote safe, decent, and affordable housing and related community development throughout Florida.
The data shows that non-student households are struggling to make ends meet and pay for essentials like food and transportation when housing costs take up a huge slice of their income. The lack of affordable housing options destabilizes families, prevents their ability to save for emergencies and force them to move more frequently in search of cheaper housing, officials say.
The collaboration will make it possible for the three nonprofits to scale their impact and help more families out of the cycle of rising rents. Winzeler said using the Communities for Care structure on some of the Habitat homes will expand the choices it offers families in need of affordable housing by making homes built on land trusts one of the options.
The North Central Foundation for Affordable Housing, a new nonprofit formed in 2020, is affiliated with Alachua Habitat for Humanity.
Jessica Cathy Aull, president of the foundation, said she served as president of Alachua Habitat for Humanity for four years prior to 2020 and “became more and more aware affordable housing in Alachua County is a big issue. We need a lot of help and maybe we can create an opportunity to facilitate collaboration among all different entities.”
The intention is to broaden geographical limits beyond Alachua County into North Central Florida to create more opportunities for safe, decent and affordable housing, Aull said.
The Communities That Care Heirs’ Property program is an initiative that addresses the largest threat to land loss in the African American community as critical.
Winzeler explained “heirs’ property” is family-owned land jointly owned by descendants of a deceased person whose estate did not clear probate. The descendants, or heirs, have the right to use the property, but they do not have a clear or marketable title to the property since the estate issues remain unresolved.
To prevent property from passing from one generation to the next without clear title, there is a growing movement of government and non-profit agencies that seek funding for legal services to assist families in establishing estate planning that allows bequeathed properties to carry with them marketable titles. Winzeler said Communities That Care Community Land Trust, which was formed in 2017, is researching this emerging trend hoping to bring information to families on how they might engage these services, and he said the organization's president Gary Hankins has stepped down and the organization will fill his position with a member of its board of directors."re
Winzeler said land trusts ensure city involvement and land held in perpetuity. Property owned by land trusts are more affordable because the buyer is not paying for the land, only paying for the house. Winzeler said land trusts are received in various ways, including the land trust purchasing the property and/or donations with the requirement the property will be used for affordable housing in perpetuity.
Winzeler said the Communities That Care Land Trust is a non-profit property developer based in Gainesville that has not been able to generate land trust properties for affordable housing. Winzeler said Orlando and Daytona Beach have robust land trusts.
“The big requirement is that land trust property can only be used for affordable housing in perpetuity,” Winzeler said.
“The more support generated— financial, property in kind and the more we make the community aware, the more resources we can raise,” Winzeler said.
Winzeler said since its inception in 1985, Habitat for Humanity has built 160 affordable homes in Gainesville and Alachua County, including homes built on land trust property.
“We’re trying to double the number of houses in 10 years,” Winzeler said. “Last year we did 8-9 houses, our goal this year is 10 houses.”
