16034: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald-Organizations team up on low-income homes (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Jun. 26, 2003

MIAMI-DADE
Organizations team up on low-income homes
Special to The Herald

Miami-Dade Neighborhood Housing Services and the Little Haiti Housing
Association, two nonprofit, community-based organizations, announced they
formed a partnership to build 40 low-income, single-family homes in
conjunction with Miami-based developer Al Townsel.

Lots for the homes are available in Little Haiti, West Little River, Liberty
City, Buena Vista and Homestead.

Once a homeowner selects a lot, a three- or four-bedroom home of between
1,200- and 1,500-square-feet will be built. The price for the lot and the
home will range from $100,000 to $120,000 depending on the size and features
of the home and the lot chosen.

The announcement, made in a press statement, said the price is between 35
and 45 percent below the median sales price of $182,900 for a home in
Miami-Dade County.

Also, below market-rate mortgages offered by MDNHS to first-time home-buyers
will make the homes even more affordable to families that might not normally
qualify for mortgages.

''The cost of housing in Miami-Dade County has been skyrocketing, making
homeownership extremely difficult for low- to moderate-income individuals
and families,'' Arden Shank, MDNHS executive director, said in the
statement. ``This partnership is a solution to this growing problem.''

The construction financing will be handled by the Little Haiti group, and
MDNHS will provide the mortgage financing and educational assistance
required to prepare buyers for homeownership. Townsel, a for-profit
developer, will oversee the construction.

''By creating this partnership, LHHA has been enabled to more efficiently
provide affordable homeownership opportunities to the residents of Little
Haiti and surrounding neighborhoods, thereby furthering its mission of
building a stronger, healthier, and more stable community,'' Samuel Diller,
LHHA executive director, said in the statement.

As part of their partnership, MDNHS and LHHA have begun sharing office space
in the Little Haiti Community Center at 181 NE 87th St. LHHA purchased the
building in 2000 and recently completed renovations.

On June 12, the two groups marked the start of their partnership with an
Open House at the center.

MDNHS is a nonprofit community-based organization that provides neighborhood
revitalization services and affordable housing services to low-to-moderate
income people throughout Miami-Dade. The group offers a comprehensive
purchasing and training program for first-time homeowners and provides house
rehabilitation loans for existing homeowners. Since 1978, MDNHS has been the
Miami affiliate of the congressionally chartered Neighborhood Reinvestment
Corporation.

The LHHA, which began serving Little Haiti residents in 1987, is the only
community development organization in the Haitian-American community that
deals with housing. The group also provides home-buyer education classes and
counseling in Creole.

The organization also sponsors a community organizing program, offers a
community garden for residents of Little Haiti and hosts the Intel Computer
Clubhouse for neighborhood youngsters.

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