SKYWAY HOMEOWNERSHIP AND GREENSPACE PROJECT

Skyway Coalition, representing diverse constituents throughout the Skyway community, and Homestead Community Land Trust share a vision to build a 55 to 57-home development surround by 11 acres of community-stewarded green space on the property known as Brooks Village, in partnership with Community Land Conservancy.

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Homes in the project will be a combination of townhomes and stacked-flats, built to a highly energy-efficient, fossil-fuel free standard with solar panels. Surrounding wetlands will be restored; open space suitable for urban food production will be cultivated, and community-envisioned environmental programming will be established in the greenspace.

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Equity Components

 

Homeownership – This project will put homeownership within reach of lower-income households, with priority to current and former Skyway residents. Outreach will support homebuyer readiness of BIPOC applicants. Access to homeownership is a “root cause analysis” solution to poverty that disproportionately impacts people of color.

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Preventing Displacement – The community of Skyway is one of the most diverse zip codes in the state, and home to many of the people displaced from the Central District. Permanently affordable community land trust homeownership will prevent displacement for lower-income households.

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Community Ownership/Equitable Development – “Not about us without us.” Both the housing and green space development are community-led initiatives that center the voice of the community.

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Climate Equity – Through investments in deep green building standards and materials, the partners will provide Climate Equity to lower-income homeowners, who are frequently denied access to climate solutions.

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Economic Development – Through a grant-sponsored program the partners will work to support small women and minority contractors to be successful in bidding for affordable housing contracts.

Community Capacity Building – The partners also seek to document their work together in response to other community-based organizations asking for guidance on how communities like Skyway can partner with an established developer.