What was once an abandoned development is now a Parade of Homes award-winning community.
Alexander Woods, situated behind Plant City High School, has won the Grand Award for homes priced less than $151,000 in the Tampa Bay Parade of Homes.
Hillsborough County purchased the community in August 2010, for $1,034,500. The county then approached the Florida Home Partnership with a request for proposal to develop the community.
FHP is a non-profit homebuilder that offers homeownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers through the USDA Mutual Self-Help Housing Program.
“I think it’s great,” FHP Executive Director Earl Pfeiffer said of the award. “To be a non-profit, it’s pretty exciting. We were up against national builders like DR Horton.”
Partnering with the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, FHP took over the townhome development about a year ago.
“The program does two things: helps with buyers down payments and closing costs and also ensures that unfinished developments don’t sit as blight,” Realtor Nancy Griffin said.
There already were two buildings constructed before the previous developer went into foreclosure. FHP is constructing three more buildings, with plans to start a fourth within the next month. FHP also is working to finish the pool and clubhouse by mid-summer. The clubhouse has a catering kitchen and bar area. The pool area also features a cabana and porch area. Residents also will enjoy a playground, along with a maintenance-free contract.
In total, there will be 80 units divided into 15 buildings on the 6-acre property. The five townhome floorplans range from $85,000 to $105,000.
“We’ve been wanting to work on townhomes for a while,” Pfeiffer said.
The Maple, a two-bedroom, two-and-one-half-bath home, and The Cypress, a three-bedroom, two-bath home, are plans from the previous developer. Both feature 19-foot ceilings and big windows in the living room area, as well as a small loft.
The three other plans, which range from two-bedroom, two-and-one-half-bath homes to three-bedroom, two-and-one-half-bath homes, are more energy efficient.
“One of our major goals was to make the homes have energy affordability,” Pfeiffer said.
Other changes to the newer models include more space. The loft has been extended over the living room to create more room upstairs and decrease window size.
Pfeiffer said the development should be finished in 2014.
“We like to raise the bar a little bit, and it works,” Pfeiffer said. “People are under the illusion that low-income developments look a certain way. But they don’t have to.”
There are already nine units waiting to close. The majority of the clients are single buyers or young families.