Nassau Habitat for Humanity
Press Release
November 10, 2020
November 9, 2020, a date that will forever change the footprint of Nassau Habitat for Humanity (NHFH) in our community. On this day NHFH broke ground on their newest project “6 On Elm”. This will be a first of its kind for Nassau County, a small subdivision made of exclusively affordable mortgaged homes.
It all started when the phone of Al Pertuz, the NHFH President, rang with a call from the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund. Wasting no time at all they began inquiring if NHFH would be interested in building six affordable homes over the course of three years if they provided a donation for the land.
After this conversation NHFH immediately began their search for six undeveloped lots for building. Upon finding the lots they saw fit they contacted the owner of the land who graciously agreed to sell the land to NHFH. The next step was then to work with the City of Fernandina Beach to design the homes in accordance with what the city considered to be a small sub-division. Several months of meetings and planning led to approval by the city council in January of 2020.
With approval in hand, NHFH went full speed ahead with the purchase of the land and the design of structures initiated by Cotner Associates.
Completion of the design was brought about in May of 2020 and NHFH submitted for the permits in June. When approval for the permits came in late October NHFH was overjoyed to finally get started on this project.
Now, 22 months after that initial phone call NHFH will embark on a three-year journey to complete six affordable homes right here on the island for families just like yours. Once these homes are completed NHFH will have built fifty affordable homes in Nassau County since beginning their organization in 1995.
Nassau Habitat for Humanity would like to thank Mr. James Coggin, representative for the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund; Mr. Chip Ross, City Commissioner; Mr. Len Kreger, City Commissioner; and Mr. John Cotner, Cotner Associates; for their assistance all the way through this project as well as attending the ground breaking.
I personally would like to thank Al Pertuz, and the rest of the people at NHFH from the office staff and board members to the volunteers and homeowners for their valiant efforts to put an end to substandard housing here in Nassau County.
For more information about NHFH or inquiries of donating time, land, or money, you can go to nassauhabitatforhumanity.org.
What a fantastic project for the community. Thanks to all that worked so hard to make the land acquisition possible and to all those that have and will in the future be involved with the construction of the houses. HFH is such a wonderful organization and kudos to the Nassau County and North FL teams.