Last week, the Tallahassee Lenders’ Consortium, Inc. (TLC), in partnership with the City of Tallahassee and Leon County Government, held a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for the first Community Land Trust (CLT) home in the Tallahassee Highlands Neighborhood.
From left to right: Karlus Henry, Tallahassee Lenders’ Consortium Advisory Committee Member; Karen Miller, Executive Director of the Tallahassee Lenders’ Consortium; Kristin Dozier, Leon County District 5 Commissioner; Rick Minor, Chairman of the Leon County Board of County Commissioners; John E. Dailey, Mayor of Tallahassee; Curtis Richardson, City Commissioner and Tallahassee Lenders’ Consortium Board of Directors Member; Akin Akinyemi, Leon County Property Appraiser; Jack Porter, City Commissioner; David Thomas, Certified General Contractor, Chief Cornerstone Construction Company, Inc.; Len Hardy, Development Manager of Tallahassee Lenders’ Consortium; Antoine Wright, Executive Director of Big Bend Habitat for Humanity; Cassandra K. Jackson, City Attorney.
The CLT was established by the City of Tallahassee and Leon County Government to develop and preserve affordable housing, as recommended by the ad-hoc Tallahassee-Leon County Affordable Housing Workgroup. The CLT promotes homeownership by acquiring and/or developing affordable single-family and multi-family housing for qualified residents.
“The County is proud to be working alongside our partners to build more affordable housing in our community,” said Rick Minor, Chairman of the Leon County Board of County Commissioners. “By acquiring and developing more single and multifamily homes, the Community Land Trust will have a lasting impact on the health and well-being of our County’s residents.”
The City of Tallahassee and Leon County entered into an agreement with the TLC to serve as the Community Land Trust in March 2020.
“The City of Tallahassee has made great strides implementing a variety of programs to help people stay in their homes, to rehabilitate existing housing stock and to create more opportunities,” Mayor John Dailey said. “This groundbreaking is another major step toward meeting the City’s goal of building 35 affordable CLT homes by 2024. To help get us there, the City has already invested $500,000 toward constructing the first nine new single-family homes and townhomes slated to begin construction in 2021.”
TLC has been a housing agency since 1993, initially serving those in the community by providing first time homebuyer education, down payment assistance and addressing housing concerns. With the increasing need for affordable housing a new opportunity arises, the CLT initiative.
“The Florida Housing Coalition applauds Leon County, the City of Tallahassee, the Tallahassee Lenders’ Consortium, and all its private sector partners,” Jaimie Ross, President and CEO of Florida Housing Coalition. “The CLT model is a wonderful tool for helping families move into homeownership, create wealth building opportunities, and homes that will remain affordable.”
“In partnership with the City of Tallahassee, Leon County, NeighborWorks America and the Florida Housing Coalition, the Community Land Trust will allow us to provide another option for persons interested in becoming homeowners,” said Karen Miller, Executive Director of the TLC. “As we continue to serve the Tallahassee/Leon County community, we will assist all who aspire to make homeownership a reality.”
The 1,273 square foot home is the first of nine new affordable single-family homes and townhomes that will be developed this year by the TLC on land donated by the County and with funding provided by the City, and additional support from NeighborWorks America.