Pembroke’s involvement in the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing program is paying off after the city became one of 16 in the state to earn a grant from the Department of Community Affairs Community Home Investment Program.
Pembroke received $612,000 to build four new homes in the Highway 119 area.
City officials said the houses will be sold “to low to moderate income home buyers with the proceeds reinvested into the housing program.”
“The city of Pembroke has worked diligently since its acceptance into the GICH program in 2013 to develop a short-term and long-term comprehensive housing plan,” council member Tiffany Walraven said. “Our primary goals are to address the housing needs of our current residents and to expand our housing stock for future community members.”
Walraven, who heads up the city’s push to build new affordable housing, said the council, Downtown Development Authority and the city’s housing team “are dedicated to improving the quality of life for our citizens.”
“We are excited about the opportunity DCA has provided to us with the award of the 2018 CHIP Grant,” she added. “Our hope is these four houses will not only help four families find safe and affordable housing but that it will also spur future opportunities for like-minded investments.”
Pembroke City Administrator Alex Floyd called the grant the result of a team effort by a cross section of residents.
“It takes input and investment from all sectors to make cities like Pembroke successful,” Floyd said. “The GICH team by achieving alumni status and being selected for this grant has done a fantastic job of building opportunities in the residential sector. At the same time, the Downtown Development Authority pursues new commercial and industrial opportunities so new homebuyers can find gainful employment. In the background, the city of Pembroke expands an infrastructure base that works in tandem with growth so that one doesn’t get ahead of the other while maintaining services like first responders and sanitation.”
Floyd said it goes beyond Pembroke.
“There is input from Bryan County’s Development Authority, public works, planning, etc. With a team like this one, anything is possible.”
Floyd said a strategic partnerships among non-profit agencies, local businesses, local governments, and community stakeholders has been key to Pembroke’s success with the GICH Program.
They have utilized these partnerships and resources provided through the GICH program to put over $13 million in investment into the community, Pembroke officials said.