Habitat for Humanity plans home rehabbing in Naples' low-income River Park area

Naples' low-income residents will soon be eligible to apply for home repairs through a new program by Habitat for Humanity.

The Collier County chapter of the international housing nonprofit organization is targeting the River Park neighborhood for its effort to help low-income homeowners fix old roofs, replace broken windows and upgrade plumbing or electrical facilities, among other offerings.

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It’s the first such program to be operated by Habitat in the city’s historically black neighborhood, where household incomes have long fallen well below the Naples median.

The Rev. Lisa Lefkow, CEO of Habitat’s Collier branch, said the group has set aside $400,000 in the next year for the program across Collier. Habitat will emphasize eligible work in River Park, an area the group has long targeted for assistance, Lefkow said. 

In another first, the Naples City Council has signaled support for subsidizing the effort with revenue from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.

Final approvals would come during budget negotiations in September, but the city has discussed providing up to $50,000 in CRA funds, said Roger Reinke, the CRA manager.

If those approvals go through, Habitat could start rehabbing homes as early as October, Lefkow said. Habitat also is planning to build an affordable single-family home for a low-income family in River Park in the fall. 

It would be the first time the city used CRA money for home rehab in River Park, the largest residential area in the redevelopment district. The district was created in 1994 in part to address substandard housing in the River Park neighborhood, where many of the 60-plus homes are more than 50 years old.

“This addresses the issue of blight,” said Councilman Doug Finlay, who asked his council colleagues to support Habitat’s project last Wednesday. “A person who has a house with a roof that needs replacement and they can’t afford to replace it — then obviously that house is going to be degraded.”

The Daily News last year reported on an almost total lack of government-provided housing assistance in River Park, despite millions in state grants that were available to the area’s low-income residents.

Finlay also said he is concerned about real estate investment groups buying properties in the neighborhood and driving up housing costs. Rehabilitating the homes would help fend off those efforts, he said.

“That is the last truly affordable neighborhood in town,” Finlay said. “I’m interested in keeping the people there as long as I can.”

Residents may apply for the program at Habitat’s offices in Naples or Immokalee. Lefkow held an informational meeting with several dozen River Park residents at the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church on June 1 and is planning to go door to door in the neighborhood.

Only owner-occupied housing is eligible for the program.