South Rome Redevelopment Corp. sells 1st single-family home
Two others are complete, and two others are still under construction.
Clayton Pugh said he and his wife, Ashley Stringer, had been searching for a $100,000 home for some time. They had made offers on three houses in the city, and all were turned down.
“We had a friend of ours who has a lot right across the street (on Wilson Avenue), and he contacted us and suggested we talk to the South Rome folks and here we are,” Pugh said. “We were looking at houses that were 30 and 40 years old as opposed to getting a brand new house in an area the city is trying to revitalize.”
Pugh said the couple’s two children, ages 7 and 9, are excited about living near Parks Hoke Park which is just a couple of blocks away.
The purchase of the 315 Wilson Ave. home marks the South Rome Redevelopment Corp.’s first sale of three new homes built on Wilson Avenue through a 2014 HOME program grant of $641,000 awarded by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
The grant is also funding two more homes that are now under construction on Wilson Avenue.
Pugh and Stringer purchased the home with the assistance of a $14,999 grant from the South Rome Redevelopment Corp., which helped with the down payment and closing costs.
Pro-Active Contractors, Kingston, bid for construction of the home was $99,000.
South Rome Redevelopment Corporation Executive Director Charles Looney said the home was sold at cost.
Wells Fargo provided the South Rome group with a $6,000 grant that provided funds for installation of a refrigerator and stove in each of the homes.
Looney said the intention of the DCA grant is to help build homes that can be sold to people whose earnings are at or below 80 percent of the area median income level.
“We had one couple that got in touch with us
and they made a little too much money,” Looney said. “They said ‘we really like South Rome, we really like what you’re doing in that neighborhood,’ so we’re actually giving them a lot and he’s going to secure his own builder and build a new home.”
Looney said SRRC has a good candidate for one of the two other homes on Wilson Avenue that have been finished. Two other homes are still a couple
of months away from completion.
Funds generated by the sale of the homes will be plowed right back into the community in the form of additional new, quality affordable housing.
Looney said the SRRC owns a number of parcels in South Rome, ranging in size from a quarter of an acre to a large 15 acre parcel. He said some of the lots may be given away under the right circumstances.