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Habitat for Humanity acquires land for 75 new Pinellas Park homes
Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County has acquired 7.3 acres in Pinellas Park, and plans to build 75 single-family homes on the suite over the next two to three years.
The acreage, said Habitat CEO Michael Sutton, was brought to the nonprofit through one of its local realtor partners. “We’re typically looking for family lots, because there’s not a lot of build-able large parcels in our county,” he explained. “So we typically know everything that’s available.”
The undeveloped land is located at the northeast corner of 68th Street and 62nd Avenue North. “The owner was looking to sell the property,” Sutton said. “I think he received seven to eight offers, and he really liked the mission of Habitat and wanted to partner with us on this.”
The final sale price was $2.1 million.
Although the current plan is to build single-family homes (each lot measures 50 by 100 feet), the organization could increase density with villas or townhomes. “For now,” Sutton said, “we’re just excited that we were able to acquire this seven-plus acres, and we’ll be partnering with the county to really flesh out all the details in terms of what we will build on the property.”
He added that Habitat will be looking for funding and volunteers as the ambitious new project moves forward.
Michael Sutton with former President Jimmy Carter at a 2015 Habitat build in Georgia (photos provided by Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County).
The home buyers will be families or individuals who have completed the Habitat program (which consists of 350-450 sweat equity hours, 20 homebuyer education classes, and contributing $1,000 toward closing costs). They will purchase the home with a zero-interest mortgage for approximately $175,000-$195,000.
In 2017, Habitat for Humanity reported the construction of 59 homes in Pinellas, compared to 34 the previous year. Nearly 47,000 volunteer hours went into the projects.
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