In late May, BankUnited and Florida Housing Finance Corporation closed loans to Rural Neighborhoods for its newest rental community in Immokalee, FL. Nearly $6M was raised to build 96 SRO beds targeting low-income, H-2a visa worker and agricultural labor housing. Rural continues to serve as a national leader in housing models serving farmworkers and Casa… Read more »
Rural Neighborhoods’ President, Steven Kirk, testified before Congress in March 2021 before the House of Representatives’ Subcommittee of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations at its Creating Equitable Communities through Transportation and Housing hearing. In answering the question as to how communities best apply a racial equity lens toward equitable development, he answered “no one… Read more »
Rural Neighborhoods’ new 62-unit Deer Creek senior housing complex in Gainesville broke ground in the 1st Quarter! In partnership with local nonprofit Neighborhood Housing and Development Corporation, Rural is building the $16 million rental community using 9% LIHTC from Alliant Capital and JP Morgan Chase together with debt from CDFI Community Housing Capital as sources… Read more »
Residents at Rural Neighborhoods’ Everglades Village in Homestead and Miami-Dade Police Department officers were busy dressing up the entrance to the 511-unit rental community with new plants and signage recently. Director of Property Management, Michael Botelho, remarked “by the end of the day all agreed we planted as much trust in each other as the… Read more »
Rural Neighborhoods is the newly, selected Developer (over a strong, competitive field of experienced firms) to design and construct 350 units in the redevelopment of the Golden Gate Golf Course located on the southern edge of Collier County. Land use and zoning changes are underway for the phased, build-out of 100 senior and special needs… Read more »
The Florida Keys Community Land Trust, a land trust founded on Big Pine Key in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, became a corporate affiliate of Rural Neighborhoods in recent weeks bringing 4 nationally-recognized cottages to our growing portfolio of 1,796 unit rentals. But it means much more than numbers! This partnership merges FKCLT Founder Maggie… Read more »
Bank United joins Rural Neighborhoods in support of Casa Amigos through its sponsorship of a $500,000 Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Affordable Housing Program loan that was recently awarded to RN and its commitment of $325,000 in project bridge financing. Tax credit investor Alliant Capital has pledged $11.6M in equity toward Deer Creek Senior… Read more »
Earlier in the year, members of Rural Neighborhood’s sewing group happily agreed to help their community when asked to sew face masks for farmworkers and their families in Immokalee. The group, which started approximately four years ago, meets weekly to learn sewing. Lusvi Perez is the volunteer instructor and enjoys helping members learn a skill… Read more »
Longtime Rural Neighborhoods volunteer, Antonia Rios’, recently spoke about her immigrant experience with PBS station WUFT. Rios’ Eden Park home in Immokalee was damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and was among the more than 70 owner-occupied dwellings rehabbed by Rural Neighborhoods with financial assistance from the Community Foundation of Collier County and American Red… Read more »
It seems it was just months ago RN was awarded funds to construct seventeen rental homes on Big Pine Key – Florida’s Ground Zero for the 2017 Hurricane Irma landfall in 2017. That disaster recovery effort is growing larger. Florida Housing Finance Corporation and CenterState Bank pledged $3.3M to construct nine units at Seahorse Cottages… Read more »