DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – Auburn Communities, a leader in providing innovative solutions to address the need for affordable and workforce housing, celebrated a construction milestone on October 11 as the clubhouse for Village at Delray was topped off. Florida Governor Charlie Crist was Guest of Honor at the event. Delray Beach Mayor Woodie McDuffie and other notable elected officials were there to celebrate the project’s positive contribution to the community.
Community members and elected officials celebrated the construction milestone with a festive lunch and the raising of a symbolic tree placed on the clubhouse roof to signify the completion of vertical construction. Scheduled for completion in July 2011, Village at Delray is a 144-unit complex that delivers the three-fold benefit of addressing the need for affordable housing to low-income and moderate-income families, providing jobs for the community and investing in the economic strength of Delray Beach.
“When people work together, we get things accomplished,” said Governor Crist at the event. “That’s why I’m so honored and privileged to be here today to thank these guys for what they’re doing investing in Florida, investing in jobs, and investing in our economy.”
An investment in the local economy, Village at Delray is a more than $30,000,000 project funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), otherwise known as the “Stimulus Bill.” Additional funds were provided by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC), Palm Beach County and PNC Bank.
Committed to supporting the Delray Beach community, Auburn Communities hired local individuals and sub-contractors to work on all aspects of construction for Village at Delray. More than half the sub-contractors chosen for the project are from the city of Delray Beach and surrounding Palm Beach County.
In addition, Auburn Communities initiated an Apprentice Program in partnership with neighborhood representatives and sub-contractors. The company sponsored 13 young adults from the community for apprenticeships with various sub-contractors on the construction of Village at Delray. Auburn Communities worked with each candidate through an interview and company matching process and provided them with hard hats, safety goggles, work shoes and clothes, tools and on-the-job training.
“Village at Delray is a positive example of our tax dollars at work in ways to meet the needs of the community,” said Brian Hinners, chief executive officer of Auburn Communities. “It highlights the fact that it is possible to provide affordable housing in ways that provide jobs to the community and employ the best practices of green building.”
A Florida Green Built development, the complex utilizes new building and construction techniques for energy and cost efficiency. Each unit will feature energy-saving programmable thermostats, water saving features such as showerheads and faucets that use less than two gallons of water per minute and Energy Star qualified appliances and lighting in all common areas. The complex will include sport fields, a 7,500 square-foot clubhouse with generator and a state-of-the-art security cable and video system and will feature hurricane impact resistant windows and metal roofs on all buildings.
Village at Delray is conveniently located off I-95 on Auburn Avenue, between SW 10th Street and Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Leasing for the units is now underway, with the first residents taking occupancy in March 2011. Final project completion is scheduled for July 2011. For more information on Village at Delray and Auburn Communities, visit http://auburngroup.net/.