Affordable apartments for veterans are nearly completed

To help meet the need for safe and permanent veterans’ housing in Sarasota, Gulf Coast Community Foundation and St Vincent de Paul CARES have collaborated to develop Heroes’ Village, Sarasota’s first affordable housing project dedicated to veterans.

With minor cosmetic touches remaining, the completion of the 10-unit project at 1539 25th St., the partnership held a ceremonial ribbon cutting Wednesday morning. All units in the $3 million development offer two bedrooms and two full bathrooms besides wraparound services, such as mental health counseling, for veterans. St. Petersburg-based St. Vincent de Paul CARES, which builds and operates affordable housing for veterans will manage those services.

Rents are on a variable schedule, but will not exceed 30% of a veteran’s or veteran’s family’s income. 

“Sadly, homelessness has been politicized, but I'm here to tell you that the only solution to homelessness is this: it’s permanent housing,” said St. Vincent de Paul CARES CEO Michael Raposa. “It's not about moving them. It's not about pretending that they don't exist and somehow they're going to go away. Ninety percent of our organization's caseload in Sarasota went to school as children in Sarasota.”

Courtesy image

The impetus for Heroes’ Village began in 2020 with a conversation between Gulf Coast Community Foundation and donors Peter Soderberg and Skip Sack. Groundbreaking for the project began in October 2023 on vacant property donated by the city of Sarasota. 

The process between concept and construction, said GCCF Director of Policy and Advocacy Jon Thaxton, faced many obstacles, and delivery was anything but on time and on budget, namely the 2020 pandemic and the following rapid increase in the cost of materials and supply chain disruption.

“We would never use that to describe this project,” Thaxton said. “We had cost estimates, and we had the money from the (county’s) Office of Housing and Community Development. We had the land from the city, but we needed a lot of more money, because our goal was to build this thing free and clear, so we have no debts. We're this building. The land is paid off. The building is paid off. There's no debt service and that is what's going to enable these veterans to live here using no more than 30% of their income.”

Photo by Andrew Warfield

The partnership raised the additional funds necessary by returning to the pool of donors, particularly Gail and Skip Sack and the Elsa and Peter Soderberg Charitable Foundation, whose names are on the exterior of the building.

“Heroes’ Village is a place where we can begin to repay a small part of the incredible debt that we owe the men and women who have served our country with bravery and sacrifice,” said GCCF President and CEO Phillip Lanham. “This project is much more than a building. It's a home — a permanent, stable, affordable home — for those who have given so much to protect our freedoms.

“Today, we are providing veterans in our community the dignity of a place they can call their own, a place to grow, thrive and find peace.”

To learn more about Heroes’ Village and the mission of St. Vincent de Paul CARES, visit svdpsp.org.