Habitat 101 in Baker County
Baker County leaders and residents gathered at the First Baptist Church in Macclenny on Thursday evening, February 6th for the second of several “Habitat 101” town hall meetings as Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville expands its service area to include Baker and Nassau counties. Vice President of Construction and Real Estate Octavious Carr shared that the first few homes in Baker County are already permitted only blocks away from the church, with construction slated to begin in the Spring of 2025.
Data from the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida’s Catalyst Dashboard shows nearly half of all Baker County renters and more than half of renters in Macclenny are already cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing (graphic included in slideshow below). Earlier in the day, Habitat staff members were led on a tour Macclenny and Glen St. Mary and heard firsthand from younger and older area residents about the challenges of finding attainable housing, especially for homeownership.
Browse the Slideshow from Habitat 101
Several of the top items discussed in the Town Hall were:
- The benefits of homeownership for local families – providing stability and enabling wealth-building
- The requirements to partner with HabiJax in purchasing a home
- The quality homes HabiJax plans to build in Baker County
- The need for buildable land, which Habitat is prepared to purchase
- Plans for a new name reflecting our larger service area , pending approval from Habitat for Humanity International
Special thanks is due to First Baptist Church and Tim Wilder, Director of Worship and Administration, for their hospitality to those who gathered and to Habitat for Humanity.
