A 9-acre tract on South 25th Street, once home to some 100 dilapidated trailers, has a new life with 104 brand-new apartments, a clubhouse, pool, playgrounds and other amenities. Both the new Live Oak Villas and the former ABC Mobile Home Park, which was condemned by the city, cater to the same people – farmworkers and others in need of affordable housing.
Read the article New Apartments
“They’re beautiful homes. There are places for kids to play,” said Carmen Roqueta, director of Tenant Services for Everglades Community Association, which manages farm worker housing properties throughout Florida. “No one can ever believe that’s housing for farm workers.” Read the article Better Place
Everglades Community Association, the nonprofit corporation that rescued Everglades Migrant- Labor Camp from the auction block, finally has a county lease to show for it.The Metro Commission unanimously approved a lease Thursday giving the association full authority to govern the migrant- labor camp at 19400 SW 376th St. Read the article Camp Given Lease by…
Collier County is considering new rules that supporters say will improve conditions in mobile home parks, but others argue they don’t go far enough in requiring park owners to replace all substandard trailers. Read the article Collier County Looks to Change Rules for Owners
The challenges of site acquisition, land use, and competitive financing are no different in communities targeting agricultural workers than in other affordable rental communities, said Kirk. “The added complexity in serving farmworkers is to understand agricultural markets and wages, and to layer sufficient subsidies to reach affordability.” Read the article Seeds of Change
“It took three years to get back to a sense of normalcy,” Kirk recalled. “In essence, Hurricane Andrew rebirthed Everglades Community Association from a local, inexperienced neighborhood group into an innovative and experienced statewide group focusing on rural communities. On her first visit to the spot last month, an Andrew survivor marveled at the improvements….
Unaccompanied workers are usually faced with the “last-least shelter” in a rural community; isolated units or ones far below building code requirements that at the “least” desirable housing in a local community and the “last” to be rented. Read the article Rural Voices