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CRA approves $400,000 for Bethel Baptist’s newest housing solution

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CRA approves 0,000 for Bethel Baptist’s newest housing solution

Bethel Missionary Baptist Church is trying to solve the affordable housing problem with a new project at the intersection of Old Bainbridge Road and West Tharpe Street.

Terence Hinson of Hinson Realty and Donald Gray, Managing Director of the Fitzgerald Collaborative, attended the Community Redevelopment Agency’s Oct. 17 meeting on behalf of the church and asked the city to approve $400,000 to cover some of the $1,029,800 in design fees .

The request was accepted unanimously.

Bethel Baptist’s new affordable housing project was overshadowed at the same CRA meeting when city commissioners voted 4-1 to conduct a feasibility study at Railroad Square, which took up most of the meeting.

But Bethel Baptist is no stranger to development, having previously worked on the Carolina Oaks neighborhood in Frenchtown.

What can you expect from Bethel Baptist’s newest development?

The development is planned to be mixed-use with residential and retail space in what the CRA considers Frenchtown’s northern corridor, allowing people to live blocks away from downtown.

The project aims to make an impact on poverty by helping “create generational wealth for many families who would otherwise not be able to afford a home,” according to the CRA application filed by the church.

Let’s look at the project with numbers:

  • Total project budget of $18,435,625
  • 835 W. Tharpe St. It is planned to be built on 5.88 acres at.
  • 57 homes will be built, including six affordable housing, 44 townhomes and 13 detached homes

Solving the gap between houses and apartments

City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox praised the project for choosing townhomes as an affordable housing option.

“A lot of times we see multi-family housing or single-family housing, but sometimes it’s the townhouses that are missing in the middle that don’t get noticed,” Williams-Cox said.

Commissioner Jack Porter said he was pleased to see “this is not just a large apartment complex with no character.” Porter had some questions about what the retail space might look like.

“When possible, some type of community health care option…some type of fresh food retail. There have been discussions about day care,” Gray replied. “The goal would be to be able to support that community and the surrounding communities with whatever is there.”

Questions continued as Commissioner Jeremy Matlow wondered whether the project would be privately financed or whether Bethel Baptist would turn to the CRA for construction funds.

“We’ll try both if the city has funding, then come back and ask,” Hinson said. “This is a project that we think will work for the city, so if we can partner with you then yes we will do it, if we can fund it and do it privately we will do it.”

What is Bethel Missionary Baptist Church?

  • It is a historic Black church founded in 1870. Rooted in community, this church has long been a center of worship, education, and social justice and has a strong commitment to civil rights. The church building has become an important landmark between the city center and the Frenchtown community. Priest Dr. Under the leadership of R.B. Holmes Jr., Bethel Baptist continues to serve as a center for spiritual growth and community engagement by offering a variety of ministries and programs.
  • Source: Bethel Missionary Baptist Church

Arianna Otero Tallahassee Democrat’s City Solutions Reporter. Contact him via email: [email protected] or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

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