Rural Neighborhood’s latest shared housing development, Casa Juarez, will open shortly, providing 32 new units. The apartment complex was constructed using $7 million in Florida Housing Finance Corporation SAIL funds and $500,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank. Casa Juarez is located at Rural’s headquarters in Homestead and is the second shared housing complex at that location. Casa Cesar Chavez was the first such model and opened in 2008 with 28 units.
The Rural Neighborhoods/Everglades Housing Group family would like to celebrate one of our own for achieving citizenship in the United States of America. Alexis Santana and his wife Rosa were sworn in as citizens on Thursday, August 31, 2017. Alexis and his wife came to the United States from Cuba approximately 13 years ago. In…
Main Street Village was awarded $500,000 in a SHIP “Forgivable Loan” by Collier County Community and Housing Services to help renovate the popular 79-unit rental community. Funds and replacement reserves will be used for a variety of interior and exterior improvements including electrical upgrades and replacement of kitchen and bath cabinetry. Renovation will start in…
Maggie Whitcomb established the Florida Keys Community Land Trust in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Irma by assembling lots throughout Big Pine Key for the rebuilding of what was “ground zero” on September 10th, 2017. Generous local giving helped the land trust break ground on its four-initial, scattered- site Keys Cottages and set aside six…
Guadalupe Social Services, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, generously provided Thanksgiving food bags for families in need at Timber Ridge at Sanders Pines, Eden Gardens, and Main Street Village. Guadalupe has been helping residents around the holidays for more than 10 years and continued their assistance this year. The bags contained some of the traditional…
Collier County Commission Chairwoman Donna Fiala recently appointed Rural Neighborhoods President, Steven Kirk, to a newly-formed Housing Stakeholder Committee. The group is to provide oversight to local government as it constructs a Community Housing Plan to address the housing needs of local residents. The planning process will begin in the Fall 2016. The Board of…
Ten participants recently completed Rural Neighborhoods’ first Resident Leadership Academy in Immokalee. The Leadership Academy was designed to help residents expand their skills in areas like communication, resolving conflicts, and working in teams. The group also learned about ways to get involved to improve the community. The three-day class ended with participants breaking into groups…