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Owners celebrate affordable housing

Residents are proud of their accomplishments in building their own homes within a local subdivision.

By JESSICA KLIPA
Published June 9, 2006

As a single mom with two teenagers to support, Cheryl Jones didn't think she could keep up with classes at the University of South Florida, juggle two jobs and build her own home. But she did.

Jones, 38, spent hours painting walls and baseboards, caulking windows, and hanging doors to help build her own four-bedroom, two-bath home in the Bayou Pass Village subdivision.

That's why Jones and other homeowners showed up Saturday to participate in a community workday to celebrate local affordable housing programs.

They spent the morning toiling in the hot sun, planting scores of crepe myrtles, live oaks and orchid trees to spruce up their budding subdivision off 24th Street Southeast.

They said they can take pride in their home thanks to the Florida Home Partnership, a nonprofit organization that assists families that qualify for affordable housing.

The residents purchased their homes for between $88,700 and $121,000 with assistance from Hillsborough County, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other agencies.

The County Commission allocated more than $2-million in federal funding for the Bayou Pass Village subdivision. The money will gradually be paid back by homeowners.

For their down payment, homeowners could contribute 600 hours of sweat-equity labor to help build their house.

The program also taught homeowners what they needed to know to build their homes block by block. Subcontractors did what homeowners weren't licensed to do.

The subdivision also has a playground, an L-shaped swimming pool, and a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse, named the Dorothy Duke Community Center after one of Hillsborough's pioneers of affordable housing.

Earl Pfeiffer, the executive director of Florida Home Partnership, said Saturday's event was a celebration of all their hard work.

"I had a vision we could create something here, but until you have the muscle to get in and do it, it can't happen," he said.

In fact, half of his 14-member staff built their homes through the program and now work full time to help others pursue the American dream, he said.

Prospective homeowners were not left to struggle alone, he said. Not then. Not now.

Under the direction of the Florida Home Partnership, families were placed in groups for team support, he said.

"It's a great accomplishment because when the community, nonprofits, local and state organizations get together, you get to see the benefits of affordable housing," said Daryl Cooper, a single family housing director at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

When the day's work was finished, a local church prepared food for a cookout for the famished homeowners.

They ate after planting a magnolia, a friendship tree signifying their collaborative efforts.

[Last modified June 8, 2006, 13:54:12]