IMMOKALEE, Fla. — County commissioners have approved plans for 27 new multigenerational homes in Immokalee, designed specifically to keep multiple generations of families under one roof.
The new neighborhood will be built on Forrester Avenue, with developers adding new sidewalks and streetlights to improve safety in our community.
The developers, Francesca and James Sainvilus, have invested in real estate across the country but say this project is personal. They are locals who grew up in Immokalee and want to give back to their hometown.
"We just wanted to focus back into our home, our homestead, which is Immokalee. We are both from here, and we just wanted to do something, give back to the community," Francesca Sainvilus said.
Click here to see Immokalee Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with the developers.
The homes are designed with downstairs living spaces specifically for elderly family members, addressing cultural needs in the community.
"The multi-generational living aspect of it is that a lot of the people in this community basically support the elders, so we really wanted to tap into that by offering them a space downstairs for the elders that can't go upstairs…. in the Haitian community and the Spanish community, we embrace them and we bring them into our home," Francesca Sainvilus said.
The Sainvilus family hopes to fill a gap in the housing market so professionals like teachers can live where they work. Many professionals who work in Immokalee currently struggle to find suitable housing in the area.
Construction will begin after design approvals are complete, though no specific timeline has been announced for groundbreaking.
Fox 4 will continue to follow developments on this project.
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