Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and leaders of Habitat for Humanity Orlando, turned over keys to a refurbished home to a proud Central Florida family on Wednesday.
The home, now owned by the Stephens family, is located in Pine Hills at 1026 Kirk Street and was the first completed foreclosure rehabilitation by Habitat for Humanity Orlando. It was purchased through the nonprofit’s partnership with Orange County under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).
Speaking at the key-passing ceremony, Mayor Jacobs stressed the importance of the partnership with Habitat Orlando.
“We are committed to preserving neighborhoods in communities such as Pine Hills that have been hit hard by the struggling economy,” said Jacobs. “We will continue to partner with Habitat for Humanity to transform more homes like this one.”
Habitat Orlando was allocated $600,000 from the NSP, to address housing for low-income families. Aiming to keep prices as low as possible for future homeowners, Habitat purchases homes and then invests approximately $40,000 into renovating each structure.
Executive Director of Habitat Orlando, Dee Danmeyer also expressed her appreciation for the partnership with the County saying, “We are grateful to Orange County for choosing to partner with us. Through this program, we’ve been able to not only provide affordable housing to more families, but also instill a renewed sense of pride in the community.”
To date, Habitat Orlando has purchased seven homes which are currently undergoing improvements, such as A/C and appliance installation, roof repair and various fixture replacements. All homes are slated for completion in 2011.
