Two New Affordable Homes Ready for Their Families

Partners to Present House Keys on April 18

April 17, 2023

From raising rafters to laying sod, City of Tallahassee employees have helped build two more homes for local families in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Leaders from both organizations will join together on Tuesday, April 18, to congratulate the new homeowners at a special ceremony at 11:30 a.m. near the corner of Volusia and Clay streets.

These builds resulted from the City Commission voting to continue the partnership with Habitat for Humanity by contributing $60,000 per house from the City's Affordable Housing Trust Fund, 600 volunteer hours by City employees and the donation of City-owned vacant lots, in accordance with the five-year Strategic Plan. Alongside other Habitat volunteers, current and retired City employees assisted in every stage of construction, accounting for more than 1,600 volunteer hours worked. The City-sponsored homes in the Griffin Heights neighborhood bring the total number of homes built through this partnership to 17 since 2017, an investment of over $1 million to date, leveraged to produce more than $3 million in affordable housing real estate for our community.

"We are honored to have played a part in helping to make homeownership a reality for local families through our continuing partnership with Big Bend Habitat for Humanity," Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey said. "This is one strategy in the City's robust efforts to increase the number of safe, affordable housing options in our community. Actions taken by the City Commission have added new units in the pipeline at three times the rate of the previous decade."

Big Bend Habitat for Humanity provides affordable homeownership to eligible residents in Leon and Gadsden County. The national Habitat for Humanity model allows for groups and individuals to sponsor homes through financial contributions and pledges of volunteer labor. Individuals who acquire a home through Habitat for Humanity contribute volunteer labor for homes built by the organization. For more information about Big Bend Habitat for Humanity, visit BigBendHabitat.org.

Learn more about the City of Tallahassee's commitment to affordable housing, including programs spearheaded by its Department of Housing and Community Resilience, such as inclusionary housing, new home infill, down payment assistance, the Community Land Trust and more, at Talgov.com/Housing.