The project will consist of ten single-family workforce housing units in the Southwest neighborhood at the corner of SW 7th Avenue and SW 4th Street.
By Mike S Payton, Contributing Reporter
DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA – The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has been moving forward with the Corey Isle housing project despite the coronavirus closures. The project will consist of ten single-family workforce housing units in the Southwest neighborhood at the corner of SW 7th Avenue and SW 4th Street.
The Delray Beach Community Land Trust (CLT) was awarded the project through the request for proposal process, which helps the CLT to reach its goal of creating healthy communities through the provision and preservation of affordable housing for low to moderate income households.
According to Evelyn Dobson, executive director of the Delray Beach Community Land Trust, the CLT has a pipeline of homebuyer applications. The families will be selected in order of when their mortgage applications are ready, in a “first come, first served” basis.
She also confirmed today that despite many financial institutions putting the breaks on business, “the pandemic has not had a direct impact on mortgage pre-qualifications for low to moderate income households with our lenders.”
The CLT also confirmed they will provide payment assistance on an as needed basis in the event of a gap between the purchase price of the home and the amount approved by the mortgage lender.
“It’s always exciting to see a new project commence,” said Tara Toto, redevelopment manager for the Delray Beach CRA.
She began working on the project in August 2019 as the project manager and manages coordination between the various public, private and non-profit agencies to ensure that the project moves forward quickly and coordination is efficient.
“Providing affordable housing with the [CRA] District is part of the CRA’s mission. Workforce housing is an integral part of sustainable communities,” with this project being special to the community in another way.
Corey Isle is named after church drummer, Corey Jones, who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2015. Jones worked for the Delray Beach Housing Authority for several years.
The housing units will sit right across from the area where Jones used to mentor others, and will serve as a constant reminder of the good that Jones provided for his community members.
The prices of the homes will range from $235,000 for the single story units and from $295,000 for the two story units, and the project is slated to take a quick nine months from start to finish.