SOUTHWEST REGION
$200,000 FCLF loan
Construction financing
16 units of affordable rental housing
The Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance (IFHA) was founded in 2018 by a group of concerned citizens to eliminate substandard, overpriced and overcrowded rental housing for farmworker families and other very low-income working families. Hurricane Irma brought to light the tragic plight of Immokalee's working poor, many of whom live in substandard trailers and shacks and pay up to 70% of their incomes for rent. IFHA's goal is to improve these living conditions by providing secure, affordable, and hurricane-resistant rental housing. There are virtually no rental home vacancies in Immokalee, which confirms the need for affordable housing in the area.
Immokalee Fair housing Alliance is building a community of affordable rental housing that, upon completion, will consist of 128 units across 8 buildings. The development is in a semi-rural area in outlying Collier County, surrounded by farmland and swampland from the Everglades. IFHA has received donations and grants to purchase the land and for other infrastructure expenses, and the apartment buildings are being built in phases. The Collier County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners approved the plans for the affordable housing community and a community center, and the first phase of the project – a 16-unit apartment building – began construction in 2024.
Florida Community Loan Fund has provided financing for 1 building in Phase 2 of this development, totaling 16 apartments. With rent at no more than 30% of household income, the residents will have a larger disposable income to spend on food, medicine, clothing, school supplies and other necessities; in turn, generating more revenue for local businesses. In addition to housing that will be affordable to very low-income households, services will be available including credit and home ownership counseling, youth services, preschool and after-school care, daycare, resources for persons with disabilities, community healthcare and dental care. The project will help stabilize the community, eliminate blight, and provide economic mobility to very low-income families. Phase Two will include a collaboration with the local Shelter for Abused Women & Children, with one building’s apartments exclusively leased to the Shelter’s participants.
Additional financing for the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance project has been provided by banks, private donations from foundations and religious organizations, state and federal programs.
