Family Promise of South Sarasota County closes on purchase for Pathways Home campus

Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·4 min read
Workers put on the finishing touches at Parkside Cottages on Jan. 19. Family Promise of South Sarasota County closed on the purchase of the 10-home development on Tuesday. The two-story cottages are two-bedroom units and the one-story cottages are one-bedroom units.
Workers put on the finishing touches at Parkside Cottages on Jan. 19. Family Promise of South Sarasota County closed on the purchase of the 10-home development on Tuesday. The two-story cottages are two-bedroom units and the one-story cottages are one-bedroom units.

VENICE – Family Promise of South Sarasota County closed Tuesday on its purchase of 10 cottages off of Substation Road to be used in its Pathways Home transitional housing program for participants in its homeless outreach efforts.

“I am hopeful that within one to two weeks we will be moving families in,” Jen Fabenbaum, executive director of Family Promise of South Sarasota County, said prior to the closing.

Family Promise completed the purchase of the cottages for $2.5 million from Mike Miller and MPS Development after raising more than $1.3 million through a public appeal – mostly on the strength of $250,000 contributions from Sarasota County, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

Earlier: Family Promise of South Sarasota County reaches fundraising goal for affordable housing

Related: Family Promise fast-tracks fundraising effort for affordable housing

The city of Venice pledged to contribute $50,000 to the project. The Venice City Council authorized Mayor Ron Feinsod to sign a partnership agreement for the funds as part of its consent agenda Tuesday morning.

Parkside Cottages, a 10-home development on Substation Road built by Mike Miller and MPS Development, was purchased Tuesday by Family Promise of South Sarasota County.
Parkside Cottages, a 10-home development on Substation Road built by Mike Miller and MPS Development, was purchased Tuesday by Family Promise of South Sarasota County.

Family Promise had been planning on a long-term fundraising campaign to purchase workforce housing to rent to participants in its homeless outreach program at affordable rates when Miller offered them the opportunity to buy the entire Parkside Cottages complex at a bulk discount.

That prompted the nonprofit to fast-track its fundraising – even though many area foundations and other donors had already made commitments for the year.

While several individual contributors came forward during the fundraising effort, the balance of the funding came through a low-interest loan of up to $1.5 million from a private donor.

Most of the homes at Parkside Cottages face a central front yard.
Most of the homes at Parkside Cottages face a central front yard.

Family Promise could not use a conventional mortgage because of a requirement to charge tenants market-rate rents.

“We still do need to raise this money,” Fagenbaum said, of the effort to repay the private loan.

“There is a next step,” she added. “We need to own more housing, we need to create more affordable housing options for working families, but we do have to pay this money back, and we do have to fundraise for the next project.”

The Pathways Home program, which would be the first of its type hosted by a local nonprofit, would provide participants with everything from financial counseling to education so they can qualify for higher-paying jobs.

They would pay a program fee of $600 per month to rent a one-bedroom cottage or $800 a month for a two-bedroom.

All of the parking spaces at Parkside Cottages in Venice are at the front of the property, near the entrance off of Substation Road.
All of the parking spaces at Parkside Cottages in Venice are at the front of the property, near the entrance off of Substation Road.

A coordinator would work with families on a plan to take steps toward self-sufficiency, so they can move into market-rate homes.

Fagenbaum said the program for families is tailored to be about a year long.

“You’re going to have goals in that year, and if you’re doing everything you’re supposed to and meeting your goals but you can’t get into a different house or if there’s one goal we were trying to help you accomplish and you’re not there yet, we can extend it at three-month intervals for at least twice,” she added.

Initially, three families will move in at Parkside Cottages. Fagenbaum said she could fill them immediately, with families now looking for new lodgings because their current rents are being increased.

“But we’re looking at other opportunities for those families now, rather than fill up all 10 of these immediately,” she said. “If I fill up all 10 transitional houses immediately, for the next year I have nowhere for anybody to go again.”

In another two or three months, more families will move in and start the program.

“We’re going to try and stagger it, so we don’t have all of the families coming and going at the exact same time, since they’re all going to have a year contract with us,” Fagenbaum said.

The nonprofit has been sending out invitations for what will be a socially distanced ribbon cutting Friday afternoon. After that, it will start the push forward to retire this loan and move forward.

“This is great, this is amazing, we are so excited but we still need your help,” Fagenbaum said. “We didn’t solve the problem yet.”

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 10 cottages purchased for homeless transitional housing