Manatee Habitat breaks ground on 16-home community

The organization has pledged to close on 10 homes a year to address the affordable homeownership crisis.

By Business Observer Staff
| 4:30 p.m. December 20, 2022
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

The groundbreaking ceremony of the 16-home community took place Dec. 10. (Courtesy photo)

Manatee-Sarasota

Ground has been broken on the new Poling Gardens community in Manatee County, which is for families affected by rising housing prices.

The Manatee County Habitat for Humanity community will feature 16 homes at 1098 32nd Ave. E in Bradenton. The homes will be available for purchase accompanied by a zero-interest mortgage.

“I hope that you recognize the hard work that we’re putting into this affordable housing crisis and creating homeowners,” Michelle Grimsley, Manatee Habitat board chair, says in a release. “The buzzword now is ‘affordable housing,’ but affordable homeownership is something totally different.”

The need for these homes in the community is apparent. According to the release, the nonprofit’s homeownership program has prequalified 58 families with an average of 83 families hoping to qualify for the program each month. In response, Manatee Habitat has set a goal to close on 10 homes a year.

Manatee Habitat expects to close on all 16 homes in Poling Gardens by mid-2025. The organization is currently working on four new homes in the Palmetto Triangle while also renovating existing Habitat homes.