Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance receives grant from the Collier Community Foundation
The Floridant/10250843

NAPLES, Fla. - Floridant -- Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance has received a $25,000 grant from the Collier Community Foundation. The funds will be used to purchase energy-efficient outdoor lighting for the nonprofit's new affordable apartment rental community currently under construction in Immokalee.

The Collier Community Foundation awards annual grants through a competitive application and review process. Selected organizations receive grant dollars from the Community Impact Fund. This Fund is made up of donors who believe in the Community Foundation's ability to identify and grant the community's most current needs.

"We are extremely grateful to the Collier Community Foundation for this generous grant that will be used by the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance to purchase and install outdoor lighting to ensure the safety of future residents," said Arol Buntzman, chairman of the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance. "As we near the completion of construction on the first building, we are finalizing many of the final touches on construction with a focus on exterior elements such as lighting. Thanks to support from the Collier Community Foundation and other local partners, we are getting closer to welcoming residents into a new vibrant, safe community that will replace substandard and overcrowded housing, giving hope and stability to so many Immokalee families."

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Many farmworkers and other low-income families in Immokalee are currently living in overcrowded and dilapidated shacks and trailers, with holes in the floor and walls, persistent mold, non-working toilets or appliances and a lack of air conditioning. Some families are paying 70% or more of their income on rent, leaving little for food, medical services, child care and other services most would consider necessities.

The Alliance is building upon 10 acres of property on Lake Trafford Road in Immokalee. Once complete, the community will feature 128 rental units and a community center. As a federally designated 501(c)(3), IFHA has no profit motive and will pay limited real estate taxes. The community will be self-supporting with rents no more than 30% of a family's income.

The first two of eight rental buildings planned for the project are scheduled to be completed by late 2023.