Affordable housing could soon be coming to 18 acres of land in Englewood

ENGLEWOOD, Fla. (WWSB) - 18 acres of land between North McCall Road and North Elm Street in Englewood could soon be transformed into affordable housing. Sarasota County has owned that land since 2004. Earlier this week, county commissioners approving the sale of the land for the purpose of building affordable housing. They are partnering with Community Land Trust to be able to make this happen.

“It’s absolutely a much needed and very important issue here for our community for the sustainability of our workforce,” said Joseph Neunder, a Sarasota County Commissioner. “For people to have the opportunity to live, work and play here in Sarasota County.”

County officials say this is one of the fastest growing areas in the state. William Cummings has lived here for 22 years. His home is next to the land, so this affordable housing would be literally right up against his backyard.

“There’s a huge need for it, a good example is my grandson is paying $1700 a month for a two-bedroom,” said Cummings.

Commissioner Neunder says it looks like homes will be built on this land, possibly some townhomes as well, although that has yet to be determined. He says with available funding, this will allow more people to be able to own these affordable homes. The commissioner is optimistic with what the future holds for affordable housing in Sarasota County.

“After seeing something like this with an unbelievable favorable outcome, I’m excited to get to work in my district,” said Neunder. “And start looking for and driving around and start identifying properties that we can enter into conversations with stakeholders, to see if this model could be duplicated.”

ABC7 is still waiting on an exact timeline for this affordable housing project in Englewood.

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