Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 9-20-19

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Urban 360° Comes Full Circle With Homeowner Presentation To Mayor And City Leaders
New Beginnings Celebrates City of Tampa and Domain Homes’ Collaboration with new Affordable Housing Model in East Tampa
Less than 19 months after the City of Tampa approved the release of lots in East Tampa and funding for a first-time homebuyer pro- gram, more than 50 low-to-
moderate income families are in brand new homes or waiting for construction to be completed. Many of the first- time homebuyers received down payment loan assis- tance from the City of Tampa, $5,000 to $30,000, that will be forgiven after the homeowner resides in the home for 10 years.
On Thursday, September
who helped to make Urban 360° a success, gathered to celebrate. More than 200 people turned out for the event hosted by Domain Homes at the Urban 360° Dream Center, 815 E. Palm Ave.
“The median income in Tampa in a 2018 report was $51,115,” said Sharon Mc- Swain, Founder and Presi- dent of Domain Homes, who started a new division, Urban 360°, to market and build this product.
“Our goal with Urban 360° was to create a partner- ship with the City of Tampa that would enable us to pro- vide high-quality new homes and excellent service to local residents who earn 80 – 140 percent of the median in-
come. We’re excited to see that Urban 360o, first-time homeowners are working, single moms, veterans, sen- iors, teachers, and city work- ers with ties to the community. Our model pro- vides a solution that isn’t gentrification — it’s all grass- roots and sustainable.”
Although some buyers qualified for financing with- out assistance, many home- owners would not have been able to buy a home without it. For these first-time buy- ers, homeownership is the reward at the end of a long journey. Several recipients spent more than a year work- ing local nonprofit counsel- ing agencies to improve their credit scores and finances to get to this point. In addition, to taking classes, they met with counselors one-on-one to tackle financial issues.
To learn more about the people benefiting from the program, guests could talk to homeowners who joined the celebration or see photos and read homeowner’s stories displayed on banners throughout the event area. The short personal stories on the banners more in-depth stories are online at URBAN360stories.com.
SHARON MCSWAIN ...Founder and President
of Domain Homes
19th, Mayor Jane Castor, city officials, community leaders, homeowners, and the nonprofits and lenders
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