TAMPA, Fla. — Less than 19 months after the City of Tampa approved the release of lots in East Tampa and funding assistance for first-time homebuyers as part of a project called Urban 360, nearly 50 low-to-moderate income families are in brand new homes.
- Urban 360 a partnership between city, Domain Homes
- 1st time homebuyers who qualified received down payment loan assistance from city
- Loan forgiven once homebuyer lives in home for 10 years
- More Hillsborough County stories
Urban 360 is a partnership between the city and a private builder, Domain Homes.
"Our program provides a solution that isn't gentrification-its all grassroots and sustainable," said Domain Homes President Sharon McSwain.
Some of the first-time homebuyers who qualified received down payment loan assistance from the City of Tampa which will be forgiven after the homeowner resides in the home for 10 years.
"It means independence"
New resident Calandra Walker took advantage of the program.
The single mom said she'd been living in an apartment and that housing prices in the Tampa Bay Area made home ownership out of her reach.
"Things didn't quite seem to align in the beginning," Walker said. "I was meeting with a lot of roadblocks because it's hard to find good housing, affordable housing here."
Walker was able to buy a three-bedroom, two-bath home that she and her son moved into in August.
"It means independence, more independence than what I thought I already accomplished. It means that I now have an asset and it means stability," she said.
Importance of collaboration
McSwain said the partnership her company has with the city represents another way to tackle the problem of affordable housing.
"I think the lessons that we've learned here recently is that there's no one municipality or program or nonprofit or builder that can truly help solve this problem," she explained. "But when we collaborate together and put all our synergies together, that's when the real magic can happen."
All of the homes built so far are in East Tampa. However, officials said they are hoping to start building in other parts of the city, as well.