Heartwood is coming to life as it's heartbeat gets stronger with pending home sales

Thirty-four homes being built in the long-anticipated Heartwood development in southeast Gainesville are open to potential buyers.

The homes are being constructed on the former site of the Kennedy Homes housing project at 1721 SE Eighth Ave., which once housed approximately 450 residents before it was found to be inhabitable almost two decades ago.

The new homes range in price from $200,000 to $450,000 and will feature quartz countertops, an open floor plan, stainless-steel appliances, hardwood flooring, three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The homes first went on sale June 30 of last year, and 14 of them have sales pending, according to heartwoodgnv.com.

“It is a melting pot of human beings,” said Craig Wilburn, a Realtor for Heartwood. “The residents vary from age, race, gender. There are singles and families. Heartwood will help people create generational wealth that some were prohibited to do for generations. Heartwood will erase those barriers.”

Kennedy Homes was built in the 1960s by Emmer Development Corp., whose founder and president was the late Phil Emmer, who also built the Lincoln Estates neighborhood that sits right next to Heartwood to the east and south.

In 2003, Kennedy Homes was destroyed by a fire. In 2007, the city of Gainesville purchased and demolished the property.

In 2009, the Gainesville Redevelopment Agency (now known as the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area) became the agent to redevelop the site. In 2013-2014, the CRA hosted town meetings for residents to voice their desires for the site.

After many meetings, residents voted to name the development Heartwood.

On Oct. 18, Heartwood hosted a construction celebration with community leaders, elected officials and soon-to-be new residents on the property.

Tricia Lopez, a project manager for the CRA, oversees the Heartwood construction and the selling of the homes.

“I am looking forward to seeing 34 families living there,” Lopez said.

The homes in Heartwood are being constructed by Elevated Design and Construction and The Flanagan Companies Inc.

Eleven lots are reserved for the Dreams2Reality program, which is a partnership with the city of Gainesville’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

The criteria for the Dreams2Reality program financing include the buyer currently residing in Alachua County, not currently owning a home and not owning a home since June 30, 2018, having a household income within the 2021 HUD income limits, contributing 2% of the sales price and having a pre-approved letter from a certified lender.

The program was created specifically for Heartwood to provide more affordable options for housing. The application for Dreams2Reality closed on July 14, 2021, and the remaining homes are being sold on a first-come-first-served basis, Wilburn said.

In 2005, Wilburn founded Team Dynamo, a real estate and property management company with Keller Williams Realty. He has been a Realtor for more than 17 years and said that Heartwood is a unique development in East Gainesville.

“There is something significant (that is) going to come out of this,” he said.

Heartwood homebuyer Cherie Lawson said she is excited to come back to Gainesville and invest in a home to build a legacy. Lawson graduated from the University of Florida in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a minor in health disparities, then moved to Atlanta to attend Emory University, where she graduated with a master’s degree in public health.

“I felt a strong sense of community in Gainesville,” Lawson said. “A co-worker recommended Heartwood to me. When I reached out to the Heartwood team, I was impressed by the atmosphere. I applied and was accepted.”

Lawson said being a homebuyer in Gainesville solidified her investment in the community.

“Gainesville is more than a college town,” Lawson said. “It can be a place of wealth.”

First-time homebuyer Antonio M. Stevenson said he is eager to walk in his new home by the end of this year.

Stevenson is from Pahokee and grew up in Tampa and Riviera Beach, attending six elementary schools, six middle schools, and one high school — P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School. His mother and stepfather moved to Gainesville in 1988 and he has lived here ever since.

Stevenson works at Dex Imaging Inc., where he helps companies, churches and businesses with their printing needs. The father of four said the opportunity to own a home is a great way to teach his children about the importance of working hard and saving money.

“I want to show the youth today that they can get something if they work hard at it,” Stevenson said. “Buying a home removes generational curses and gain generational wealth. Working hard, having great leaders and mentors helps lead you on the correct path.”

Stevenson said that Heartwood is a great neighborhood and moving in will be a great present for his 40th birthday in November.

Heartwood is near several natural preserves in East Gainesville that are visited by many local residents and out-of-town visitors including Newnans Lake, Morningside Nature Center, Boulware Springs Park, Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and more.

There 11 home models, which go by the names Red Maple, Dogwood, River Birch, Cedar, Longleaf Pine, Palmetto, Crape Myrtle, Elm, Magnolia, Cypress and Live Oak.

For more information about Heartwood, visit heartwoodgnv.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Heartwood housing development steadily moving along in SE Gainesville