Nuestra Señora de la Vivienda Community Foundation recently secured $1.0m towards Phase I construction of Monarca.

IMMOKALEE , FLORIDA, UNITED STATES , July 8, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The dream of building an affordable, family-oriented housing community within an impoverished, rural farm-working town in southwest Florida moved closer to reality recently when the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation (PFCF) closed on the acquisition of 50 acres of land in Immokalee, located 40 miles from Naples.

Partnering with the non-profit Nuestra Señora de la Vivienda Community Foundation (NSVCF), PFCF will develop Monarca, a rental community with 179 affordable, single-family homes and townhomes. PFCF, based in Boca Raton, Florida, is the lead donor for Monarca and has committed up to $10 million toward the $41.5 million community. NSVCF recently received a state appropriation of $1 million and will engage public and private businesses, as well as private foundations and donors, to secure the balance of funding needed to complete Monarca.

“With the closing now behind us, we have begun the permitting for Phase 1 of Monarca,” said Andrew Van Valin, Senior Manager of Acquisitions, Development, and Special Projects for the PFCF. "We are grateful to the Barron Collier Companies for its willingness to sell land for this much-needed purpose. Monarca will offer low-income families in and around Immokalee, with safe, stable, and affordable housing, as well as wraparound services to support their needs." Phase 1 of Monarca will build 64 homes and a community center to assist the residents.

It is anticipated that ground will be broken for Monarca in 2025.

In the fall of 2023, the Collier County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a Planned Unit Development on the 50 acres to allow for the rental units and an Early Childhood Education Center. The approval includes 150 units to be rented to families with extremely low-household incomes and an additional 20 units to families in the low-household income bracket.

With more than 42% of its population living in poverty, and many residents, including families, currently residing in substandard housing, there is an urgent need for such affordable housing in Immokalee. Many families pay close to 70% of their income on rent, often with 12-18 people living together in a single trailer.

PFCF, founded by the late William J. Pulte, founder of Pulte Homes and PulteGroup, is separate and distinct from all other organizations that bear the Pulte name.

For more information about and to support Monarca, please contact Jeff Bookstein, Vice President of Development for the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation.

Jeff Bookstein
+1 561-544-0955
jeff@pultefamilyfoundation.org
Pulte Family Charitable Foundation