CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) — An affordable housing community will soon open doors for more families in Wakulla County.
Greye's Place is one of three affordable housing communities funded through Hurricane Michael Recovery funds in our area. Some in the community feel the county is growing too big, and more housing will just add to it.
Construction is a common site in Wakulla County lately, but there's one development that's offering something different. Debra Fleming is the President of Affordable Housing Solutions for Florida Inc. She says this is one of the first affordable housing developments that Crawfordville has seen.
Greye's Place will soon provide 27 three-bedroom two-bath homes for families earning between $32,000 and $67,000 yearly. The houses are not a part of the Housing Authority, nor are they Section 8, although vouchers will be accepted. The homes are geared towards workers such as teachers, law enforcement, and nurses.
"It's not affordable housing as most people understand it. It's financed by the HOME programs which are federal programs that come down from HUD. It's a second mortgage that allows us to provide rents that are below the market," said Fleming.
The Federal funds are typically spread throughout the state. In 2019, all of the money was pushed to the northeastern counties impacted by Hurricane Michael with the goal of rebuilding the devastated communities.
Winston Harrell is looking forward to the project.
"A lot of people actually need affordable housing. Someplace to call home. They've never had it before. I was one of those people before I decided to move to Atlanta," he said.
Although he's one of the many against more housing for the general public.
"They stay here overnight and work in Tallahassee. We don't need that here. The reason I moved back to this county is because it's a laid back slow county. It's not that anymore," he said.
Pre-leasing for Greye's Place is happening now. You can find more information about how to get involved by clicking here.
Construction on Phase 2 at the end of the year. The other complexes are in Carrabelle and Marianna.
