Summary

In 2019, the City of Jacksonville created a Surplus Property Donation Program with the aim of supporting the construction of affordable housing on city-owned lots.

The Office of Inspector General issued a report in September 2023 highlighting the fact that 59 of 62 grantees (95%) in the first year failed to build affordable housing on 160 parcels. Media reports in the summer of 2024 shed more light on this report and some of the problems it has pointed out.

As the largest non-profit builder of affordable homes on the First Coast and the Surplus Property Donation Program’s number one builder, we want the public to know what we have done with the land entrusted to us. Every lot HabiJax has received has an affordable home on it – either completed or presently under construction.

We are eager and able to receive more lots and build more homes to serve more Jacksonville families in the midst of our ongoing affordable housing crisis. Presently, however, HabiJax is limited to receive three homes per donation cycle, which may only happen every three years.

If you would like to see more Jacksonville families able to own a home they can afford, stay tuned for our recommendations to enhance the oversight and effectiveness of this City program. Subscribe to our newsletter for updates and advocacy opportunities, as well as stories of local families empowered to build better futures through owning a home they can afford.