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Dunedin Approves Habitat Townhouses

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: January 18, 2008

DUNEDIN, Fla. - DUNEDIN, Fla. - The local Habitat For Humanity unit will build its first townhouse complex on the former site of the Dunedin Housing Authority apartments.

At Thursday night's City Commission meeting, city officials approved a preliminary site plan and zoning changes for the faith-based housing group's proposed Shady Grove Town Homes.

The development will consist of 19 homes clustered in two-story buildings. Each building will contain either two or three residential units.

Roger Larson, an attorney representing Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County, said Shady Grove will be the group's first attempt at constructing a townhouse subdivision.

The 2.5-acre site Shady Grove, on the southeast corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Howell Street, is a beautiful location, Larson said. In its plans for the townhouse complex Habitat attempted to preserve several trees on the lot, the attorney said.

Each townhouse will be constructed in the coastal vernacular style, with front porches and design features such as window shutters, said Matthew Campbell, interim community services and zoning administrator. Each building will have a different color scheme to get away from the public housing appearance.

Habitat of Pinellas County will develop a homeowners association that will help maintain this design scheme once Shady Grove is fully developed, Larson said.

In order to qualify for a Habitat home a low-income family must help build a Habitat Home and prove they can pay the very low mortgage, insurance and utilities.

Shady Grove will be constructed on the site of the Dunedin Housing Authority's former Highlander Village apartment complex, just west of the city's waste water treatment plant. Highlander Village provided subsidized housing mainly to the elderly.

The rundown 20-unit public housing complex was demolished several years ago, after officials discovered toxic lead-based paint and materials containing asbestos were used in its construction.

Commissioner Julie Scales said she is looking forward to seeing Shady Grove rise on the site of the former public housing complex.

Commissioner Deborah Kynes said Habitat of Pinellas County's first multifamily subdivision will serve as a model for the rest of the county. The attention to detail in design of the townhouses will give each Shady Grove family pride of ownership, she said.

Mayor Bob Hackworth said the project will be a great addition and help revitalize the neighborhood.

City Manager Rob DiSpirito said the project is in keeping with the city's long-range goal of encouraging or providing affordable housing options for the working class.

A contractor will first be chosen to install the infrastructure needed for the townhouse complex. Sometime this fall, volunteers will be enlisted to start constructing the townhouse buildings.

In a typical Habit project the housing units are constructed by volunteers with the help of the would-be home owners, who must agree to pay off a low-interest mortgage. Habitat of Pinellas County used a grant to finance its purchase of the former Highlander Village site.

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