A new partnership aimed at tackling affordable housing in Collier County has formed between two Collier nonprofits.
The Housing Alliance, created by organizers from the Collier County Community Land Trust and Community Foundation of Collier County, aims to be a “community hub” for information, education, and resources surrounding affordable housing in Collier.
Eileen Connolly-Keesler, the President of the Collier Community Foundation, said that the new Housing Alliance is looking to solve a major problem for Collier, and will do far more than just education.
Collier County creates new Hub to streamline the building of affordable housing
“Because right now, in Collier County, it can be for years from beginning to end of a project, it is painfully long," she said. "Although the hub will be an amazing resource for information, it also is going to be the place where developers work with and the county comes in and, and really acts like a true hope.”
According to a recent study by the Urban Land Institute, two out of every five households in Collier are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. Additionally, 61.4% of jobs in Collier pay less than $33,250 per year, while the average monthly rental cost hovers over $1,500 a month — and the average home price is more than $341,000.
Recent polling for the Collier County Community Assessment additionally showed that affordability of housing was a priority for residents, with over 65% of the 6,000 respondents listing “Controlling Housing Costs” as their top priority.
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Michael Puchalla, Executive Director of Collier County Community Land Trust, lead the program. Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUHousingHub112123AM
Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Jackie Keay, The Journey Home, spoke to the needs of Veterans in Collier County. Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Collier County City Council Member, Raymond Christian, said a few words during the question and comments session. Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Stephen Hruby, Board President of the Collier County Community Land Trust presented. Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Stephen Hruby, Board President of the Collier County Community Land Trust presented. Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Barbara Melvin, NAACP Collier, spoke to the need of affordable housing. Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Eileen Connoly-Kessler, President & CEO of Collier Community Foundation, was one of the presenters and creators of the HUB. Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUHousingHub112123AM
Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUHousingHub112123AM
Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUHousingHub112123AM
Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUHousingHub112123AM
Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
13 of 14
— WGCUHousingHub112123AM
Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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— WGCUHousingHub112123AM
Collier County has created a “housing that’s affordable” Hub to incentivize the process of building affordable housing. Bringing together builders, city officials and groups, as well as grants to help get projects off the ground. Thursday, November 16th, they made the announcement.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
At a recent event hosted by the Community Land Trust, Executive Director Michael Puchalla announced the project and emphasized the importance of taking concrete steps towards constructing more affordable housing.
“And we’ve had a lot of conversations about need, and the need is well-defined, now people want to hear about solutions, how can we get involved,” he said.
The new nonprofit is looking for a CEO now, and will have a starting staff of four people.
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