In 2022, the City of Gainesville named Bright Community Trust — Florida’s largest community land trust — as its official partner to develop permanently affordable homes for income-eligible homeowners on surplus lots previously owned by the city.
With support from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, the city set a goal of constructing 10 homes using the community land trust model, which ensures the homes remain permanently affordable. An affordability requirement in the housing agreement with Bright restricts current and future sales to income-qualified buyers. It also requires owner occupancy of the homes.
In 2023, the city transferred four vacant, surplus lots in the Porters and 5th Avenue neighborhoods to Bright, launching Phase 1 of the program. In 2024, six additional lots were transferred, two of which can accommodate either two single-family homes or a duplex.
When complete, Phase 2 will add eight more permanently affordable homes, bringing the total to 12 in several neighborhoods around the city. All homes in the community land trust program are expected to be completed by mid-2026.
The community land trust program is part of the city’s comprehensive housing strategy to increase the supply of affordable housing through new construction.