NAPLES, Fla. — A new neighborhood is coming to Collier County, bringing 210 affordable homes to families in the area.
Habitat for Humanity of Collier County is developing Las Palmas, a community that will be built in two phases. Phase one will include 60 condos. Phase two will add 150 homes — a mix of condos and townhomes. The goal is to finish construction by 2028.
Click here to see Fox 4 Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with a homeowner.
For many people in Collier County, owning a home has felt out of reach. Tanner Bilir and his wife, Miriam, who both live and work in Naples and have had to move several times.
"It was very difficult with regular mortgage loans, because the interest rates are very high and the housing is very high as well," Bilir said.
This past Friday, that changed. The couple learned they had been approved for Habitat for Humanity's program, which offers zero-interest home loans.
"She said, Congratulations! We have been approved for this opportunity, and we were just looking at each other with my wife, and I felt so grateful and excited in that situation," Bilir said.
Every family in the program has to contribute sweat equity, to help build their own home.
"I will do some work for this construction. It feels like I'm doing something for this. I'm not just the applicant. I'm really a worker for this construction site as well," Bilir said.
Kara Kouloheras, the COO at Habitat for Humanity of Collier County, said stories like Bilir's reflect a widespread problem in the community.
"This community is in an absolute crisis when it comes to affordable housing. The people who live and work in this community are not able to afford to live here. Rent prices have skyrocketed over the last few years, so families have really struggled," Kouloheras said.
For Bilir, Las Palmas represents more than just a place to live.
"This community, not just a home for us, but also stability, safety, and the hope for our future," Bilir said.
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