The Pensacola City Council, meeting as the Community Redevelopment Agency board, unanimously approved donating three properties to the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust in a 5-0 vote.
On “Real News with Rick Outzen,” CRA chair Jennifer Brahier said, “This is new to us, and so I’m extremely hopeful, and I like us starting with just three homes so we know what we’re doing. If that works, then we can go to another property and maybe get 12. And if that works, then we may be getting a blueprint of how to handle the Baptist property if that comes to fruition.”
Under the agreement, the Home Builders Association of West Florida will build two new homes and rehabilitate a third. The city requires the homes be built or remodeled to a “like-new” condition within one year and sold to income-qualified individuals within 18 months.
These homes will be sold as affordable housing to individuals with incomes at or below 120% of the area’s median income. The homes can only be resold in the future at a price that is affordable for individuals at the same income level.
The legal agreement mandates selling homes to buyers meeting income criteria set by the land trust. Affordable housing equals one-third of monthly income, making $2,079 or less a month suitable for individuals at 120% of the area’s median income in 2024, per Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
Pensacola Habitat for Humanity created the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust, but the Homebuilders of Association of West Florida is building its first project.
