Haines City breaks ground on $30 million affordable senior housing

HAINES CITY, Fla. — City and church leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of a new affordable senior housing community on Tuesday.

The future Trinity Village will sit just behind Trinity Worship Center Church. Bishop Charles Anderson says the facility has been in the works for about 10 years. Despite obstacles along the way, he says he and his wife, Dr. Judith Anderson, continued to hold on to their faith.

“I believed and knew that God had given us a vision to do it. And I just kept going back and kept going back, and here we are today,” Bishop Anderson said.

With the help of community partners, the couple broke ground on the 102-unit facility. Anderson says the complex is designed to support seniors’ needs, featuring a pool, clubhouse and a range of on-site services.

“We want them to be able to retire in dignity and live in a place they can be safe and proud of,” he said. “And I believe we owe it to those who have invested in our country and our communities to give back.”

Mitchell Rosenstein, principal developer with Green Mills Group, says that belief is reflected in the community’s rent, which will range from about $300 to about $1,400. Leaders say more than 50% of Haines City residents pay more than 30% of their income for housing.

“Those rents that are actually affordable — actually affordable for people earning 17,000 to 55,000 dollars,” Rosenstein said.

Bishop Anderson says none of this would have been possible without city and federal contributions. Now, he and his wife are looking forward to building the nearly $30 million development on the same soil where they planted their church.

“Pursuing the dream,” Dr. Anderson said.

Trinity Village is expected to open by the end of next year. The Andersons say they plan to start accepting applications next June.