WEST REGION
$1.25 MILLION FCLF construction line of credit
30 affordable single-family homes

From veterans to seniors to those who simply need help with their credit ratings, Florida has a large population seeking affordable housing. For many, the dream of home ownership may seem out of reach. That’s where organizations like Suncoast Housing Connections (formerly known as Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation) step in, to help households find solutions, to offer classes and counseling, and show them the way home.

Suncoast Housing Connections / Tampa Bay CDC was founded in 1982 to promote home ownership in a Clearwater neighborhood. In 1988, the organization’s focus area expanded to include Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties; and since then Pasco County has also been included in services and housing development.

The mission of Suncoast Housing Connections is to provide education, counseling, and housing opportunities, and to revitalize neighborhoods for low- and moderate-income households. As a HUD-approved counseling agency, Suncoast Housing helps 1,200 clients annually (over 60,000 since inception) with home ownership education and classes, including pre-purchase counseling, finding down payment assistance, and avoiding foreclosure. Florida Community Loan Fund and Tampa Bay CDC have previously partnered on single family affordable homes in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties.

With financing through a line of credit from Florida Community Loan Fund, Suncoast Housing Connections purchases or take donations of homes in need of rehab; the homes are then renovated and sold to first-time low-income home buyers, many of whom already receive counseling and attend classes. The organization also builds new, affordable single-family homes available for sale. The end product is an affordable, move-in ready home. As Suncoast Housing Connections enters a new phase of growth, this FCLF financing will allow the organization to purchase & renovate 5-10 homes annually in Pasco and Pinellas Counties. These new homes are affordable to households with income at 80% to 120% of Area Median Income (AMI), and when paired with pre-purchase classes and counseling, they can be the answer for a low-income household with a dream of home ownership. Putting homeowners into these reconstructed homes will stabilize market conditions in the communities and decrease the amount of blight. Additional funding is provided by Pasco County’s “POP” (Pasco Opportunity Program).

Learn more at www.suncoasthousingconnections.org

Pictured above, a sample Suncoast Housing Connections home representative of those made possible by FCLF financing.