Gainesville welcomes Corey Harris as senior housing strategist
Published on April 12, 2022
City of Gainesville leaders are pleased to welcome Corey Harris as the new senior housing strategist.
Harris will join the city on May 2 after spending nine years at the helm of the Neighborhood Housing & Development Corporation (NHDC), a local nonprofit housing development organization. He most recently served as its executive director and previously as deputy director/director of counseling services.
“Corey’s extensive experience in delivering affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate income neighbors in our community is invaluable as we continue to implement our strategic housing goals,” said Gainesville interim City Manager Cynthia Curry.
The position was created in January following changes to the city’s organizational structure. Harris’ duties will include the planning, coordination and direction of all housing program activities at the city.
“I’ll start by listening to the collective voices of all our stakeholders,” said Harris. “We are all invested in the housing needs of our community, and I look forward to working together toward solutions to the shortage of affordable housing.”
Under his leadership at NHDC, Harris said he is most proud of expanding the organization’s affordable housing portfolio from solely single-family housing to include its first multifamily development, the Deer Creek Senior Housing project, located adjacent to the city’s Northside Park.
“I’m excited to see Deer Creek nearing completion,” Harris said about the affordable senior housing complex. “And in my new role, I’m ready to work with developers and nonprofit real estate organizations under the direction of the city manager and commission to address some of the more critical affordable housing needs of our community.”
Harris is a graduate of Florida State University and is a former mayor of Archer. He serves on the governance committee of the NeighborWorks Association through which he has earned two professional certifications.