‘I promised Diego a home.’ Manatee Habitat for Humanity steps up house-building effort
Manatee County Habitat for Humanity has not been immune to the problems stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including lock-downs, supply chain issues and the escalating price of land and building materials.
In the last six years, Habitat has averaged building two new homes a year in the Bradenton area.
This year it built seven — all in Palmetto — and hopes in the near future to start building 10 homes a year, Bernie Quinn, Manatee Habitat’s president and CEO, said this week.
Habitat now has 58 families on a waiting list for homes, and receives 83 inquiries a month, Quinn said.
Such is the demand.
Habitat has completed or is completing construction of four houses in what it calls the “Triangle” area off U.S. 301 and Third Avenue West in Palmetto. All of the homes are three-bedroom, two-bath models constructed of foam block, filled with concrete.
The construction makes the houses very strong, and during a recent hurricane, none of the Habitat homes, even those under construction, suffered any storm damage, a staff member said.
A next step for Habitat
At noon Saturday, Manatee County Habitat for Humanity plans a groundbreaking ceremony for its Poling Gardens community in West Samoset at 1098 32nd Ave. E. Expected to attend are donors, prospective homeowners and community members.
All 16 homes in the new development will be sold with a zero-interest mortgage to local families who have been affected by the housing crisis. The monthly mortgage payment ranges from $800 to $1,000, payable over a 30-year period.
By mid-2025, Habitat projects that it will have completed all 16 single-family homes in Poling Gardens. The first family to move in will be a single mother, Ketty, and her son, Diego. At her request, the Bradenton Herald is not using the family’s last name. After several years of living in inadequate, sub-standard apartments, Ketty will have a safe, affordable home where she can raise her son.
“I promised Diego that we would have a home someday. This is going to be a new page in our lives,” she said in a statement.
A worsening problem
The Bradenton area has been beset by a worsening housing crisis, which not only keeps potential home owners from buying a home, but puts more pressure on agencies providing help to the homeless and families that are one paycheck away from becoming homeless themselves.
The median price for existing single-family houses sold in the Bradenton area in October was $549,444, a 29.3% increase from the same month a year earlier.
“We’re working day in and day out to get our prospective homeowners out of their insufficient rental situations and into stable, affordable homes,” Quinn said. “Community support plays a key role in helping us meet these goals. We rely on your volunteerism, advocacy, and donations.”
The biggest problem facing Habitat is the the price of land, Quinn said.
Habitat is studying the possibility of building a 20-unit townhouse project in the Bradenton area. Construction of townhouses would be a first for Manatee Habitat for Humanity.
What is Habitat for Humanity?
Manatee County Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical, volunteer-based organization with the mission to develop resources, educate and mobilize people to work alongside families in need, rehabilitating existing homes and building sustainable, affordable homes.
For more information visit manateehabitat.org.
This story was originally published December 7, 2022 at 1:29 PM with the headline "‘I promised Diego a home.’ Manatee Habitat for Humanity steps up house-building effort."
