Delray Beach Community Land Trust Achieves Excellence, Builds Sustainable Affordable Housing

Affordable Workforce Housing has taken a giant leap forward in the town of Delray Beach thanks to the efforts of the Delray Beach Community Land Trust and the Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.

With an initial $7 million grant from the Community Redevelopment Agency, the newly established Delray Beach Community Land Trust was able to build 31 new affordable workforce houses and plans to have 100 finished by the end of the year.

“We couldn’t do it without political and community support” claimed Joe Gray, Delray Beach Community Land Trust Executive Director, “we receive loans from the CRA to acquire the land, which are gifted, and a separate loan for construction”.

The houses the Community Land Trust builds are not pre-fabricated or of inferior quality either. They are brand new, custom built houses that uplift neighborhoods with their high quality and architectural charm.

“These houses are absolutely stunning” said Phil Bacon, General Manager of The Growth Partnership, “the Delray Beach Community Land Trust is doing an absolutely fantastic job in providing affordable workforce housing to the community of Delray”.

The Community Land Trust also hopes to continue their practice of building superior and affordable homes for the citizens of Delray Beach permanently through future grants, leveraging uncaptured equity for future building projects, and initiating a partnership program.

“We don’t expect the CRA money to go on forever” explains Joe Gray, “but the equity we build up allows us a seat at the table (for future revenue streams)”

Community Land Trust also hopes to create future partnerships with local businesses so that if they choose to fund the Community Land Trust their employees would get priority.

“Delray Beach can’t attract business from (the) Midwest” said Gray. This is a way to further sustain our mission and bring new opportunity to the area.

But to say the Community Land Trust only builds new affordable houses for qualified families does not capture the full range of services they offer. They are also involved in renovating historic Delray Beach building such as the La France in order to provide apartments for low-income seniors in the community.

“We gutted (the building) and expanded it to give the building a total of 8 efficiency apartments and 6 one bedroom apartments”, added Gray.

In addition, the Community Land Trust provides homeownership counseling services, finds your family a place to stay while they build your house, and rent out affordable places as well.

What makes the Delray Beach Community Land Trust especially great is that it puts these premium quality houses available to the individuals in Delray Beach who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford them or any other house in south Florida. Individuals making as little as 60% AMI (average medium income) can qualify. Small down payments make moving in even simpler as only 5% of your annual salary is required to move in.

Taken together, the city of Delray Beach has a team of dedicated individuals and organizations that offer services that give their citizens the possibility of owning a house in their own community, while boosting the look and feel of Delray Beach’s neighborhoods.

For more information on the Delray Beach Community Land Trust visit their home page at http://www.delraylandtrust.org/. To read their eligibility requirements visit http://www.delraylandtrust.org/documents/DBCLT-%20HomebuyerSelectionCriteria.pdf