NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — Nassau County officials say they are experiencing an affordable housing crisis. Commissioners believe one solution to the ongoing issue is building tiny homes. Officials are interested in transforming an old mobile home community into a tiny home neighborhood. There are two properties that are considered "pilot" areas and developers are waiting for the stamp of approval from the county to begin building.
County Commissioners say there is a gaping hole in the affordable housing market. Nassau County's Economic Resource Coordinator, Holly Coyle, said the county wants working people living in Nassau County to stay. Nassau County says nearly 75% of people who work within the county would qualify for extremely low or very low-income housing at rental rates. That's according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation's 2022 income limits and rent limits.
"There's a stigma related to affordable housing," Coyle said, who admitted to utilizing affordable housing. "I was a single mom and there were times I was living paycheck-to-paycheck and it was hard for me to pay my rent. But a lot of people dealt with that so we know what it's like. It's not something to be afraid of."
Coyle said this plan would benefit working people such as teachers and first responders. She pointed out how the average price of a condominium is over $700,000, while the average single-family price is $550,000. The county said there are 20 mobile home communities but can accommodate for 356 spaces for tiny homes.
"We're looking for housing for people that work in our community. Teachers, firefighters, and local government workers. People who live there and serve our communities, we want to have a place for them to live," Coyle added.
There are two ways Nassau County officials go about this. For every 20 spaces in a mobile home community, developers would build 60 tiny homes. The second option includes using a county-owned property to build homes and wave the impact feels. If all goes smoothly, developers are waiting for the stamp of approval to start building for a few months.