Villager Apartments is the latest property acquired in Jacksonville using this new model. The property has 40 units, half of which will be dedicated to veterans exiting homelessness and half of which will be market-rate units intended to preserve existing affordable housing. Caroline Village was acquired first in April 2022 with 93 units, and French Courtyard was acquired in June 2022 with 42 units. These acquisitions were supported in part by a generous $10 million investment from Northern Trust, a global financial institution that has served clients in Florida for more than 50 years.
Jacksonville is one of 16 target large cities in Built for Zero chosen for this level of investment because it has built a successful strategic partnership ecosystem that has resulted in a 35 percent reduction in veteran homelessness since 2015. Built for Zero supports over 100 communities across the country that are working to measurably and equitably end homelessness, using a data-driven, systems approach.
This new model will acquire housing that will help select large cities accelerate their journey toward functional zero, a milestone for measurably ending homelessness for a population. Jacksonville is among other cities, like Denver, Sante Fe, and Nashville, using this new model to close the housing gap and quickly match veterans on their local by-name list with permanent housing.
Lenny Curry, Jacksonville Mayor, said: “I am incredibly proud of the success we continue to have through our public, private, and philanthropic partnerships to reduce homelessness in Jacksonville. Working with Community Solutions, we have acquired a third property. This property increases the supply of affordable housing in Jacksonville and puts us within reach of effectively ending veteran homelessness in our community.”
Since 2015, the community has implemented the Built for Zero methodology and housed 1,715 veterans. Because of their progress, Jacksonville has moved into the pipeline for the Large City Last Mile cohort, meaning that the Built for Zero team thinks they could be one of the first large cities to reach functional zero.
Click here to learn more view the entire press release.
Content
Community Solutions Acquires Third Property In Jacksonville Dedicated To Solving Veteran Homelessness, Preserving Existing Affordable Housing
March 16, 2023
Community Solutions, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness, has announced the acquisition of a third property in Jacksonville to accelerate community efforts to reduce veteran homelessness. The acquisition is part of a broader initiative to leverage a new social impact financing model to introduce additional real estate assets within certain communities participating in Community Solutions’ Built for Zero initiative.