Bonita-area real estate: Chamber initiates forum on affordable housing

That's the idea behind the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce-initiated Affordable Housing Committee.

The committee brings together individuals from a variety of fields that understand the issue and can play a role in finding a solution.

"We basically wanted to bring government and business together to the table to talk about the issue," said Chamber President Nancy Keefer. "To be able to make housing affordable, to make any solution work, you need a public-private partnership."

Jay Arend, who has been actively involved in the issue through his position as a city councilman, is playing a part in the newfound partnership.

"Affordable housing, or the lack thereof, is everyone's problem," Arend said. "We all use the services of people that are paid minimum wage."

The businesses that are members of the chamber hire these minimum wage workers and everyone in the community benefits from their services, Arend said.

"So it is up to all of us to make sure that these workers are happy," he said. "And what can make a person happier than having a roof over their head, a place to call home."

Some businesses, Keefer said, already provide support to their employees by helping make the down payment on a house or facilitating the availability of a loan. The city plays its part by forgoing various impact fees on affordable housing projects and making loans and grants available for such project, said Mary Sorge, executive director of the Bonita Springs Housing and Development Corporation and a committee member.

"The more businesses that become involved in the project the better," Sorge said. "After all what we are talking about is essentially workforce housing."

Businesses can helpt by donating funds or making plots of land available or simply helping their employees' financial needs.

"There are still opportunities available within the city," Sorge said. "There's lots that can be bought and things that can be done to create availability of housing. All this can be done if business people step forward and help financially or create funding or help seek funding."

That kind of involvement is exactly what the chamber is aiming to provide through the committee, Keefer said.

"We ourselves have limited resources. We are not playing a lead role, but that of a facilitator," Keefer said. "It is an issue that affects all of us and partnerships are always more successful than individuals in solving such issues."

Contact Business Editor Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair at 213-6037 or rtrivedi@naplesnews.com