PARRISH, FL - Several homeowners in Neal Communities' Forest Creek neighborhood are suing Forest Creek Associates LLC for designing and building more affordable housing within the community. The lawsuit against Forest Creek Associates LLC, of which John Neal is listed as a manager, was filed Friday. Originally slated to hold townhomes, land toward the rear of the 240-acre community has sprouted a new product. The initial pricing of the smallest of the Cafe Collection cottages started in the $120,000s. Since its debut, demand for the product raised the starting price to the $140,000s.
The sluggish market has led many builders to lower prices on homes. The townhomes in Forest Creek started in the mid $200,000s in 2005 but now are selling for $179,000. The Gull model, which is the mid-priced home in the Cafe Collection, also sells for $179,000. "All that's happening is we have substituted the townhome product with a single-family home product of the same caliber," said Pat Neal, president of Neal Communities. Still, residents say they were promised luxury homes in a luxury community and the new smaller, more affordable homes aren't good for resale value or the aesthetics of the community.
About 70 of the affordable homes are slated for construction in Forest Creek, 31 of which have already been sold. That accounts for about 25 percent of the remaining lots in the community. "My clients feel they bought into one type of subdivision and now have been given another," said Crystal Golm, the attorney representing homeowners. They are also concerned with who the buyers of the product are and what might happen to the value of their homes as a result.
Neal Communities expected some homeowners may have concerns about the residents and met with residents to address the concerns in four public meetings and various private meetings. All but one of the seven homeowners named in the suit own multiple properties in Manatee County. One of the couples involved in the action, Frank and Maria Maruca, own nearly 30 other properties in Manatee alone, according to Manatee County Property Appraiser's Office records. "We've had extensive meetings with him," John Neal said of Frank Maruca. "This is a shock and a surprise."
Golm and client Maureen Giardano both contend that the number of residents upset about the addition of the Cafe Collection cottages goes beyond the number of people named in the suit. It is the affordable nature of the cottages that seems to be causing the most concern. "That product was never designated through the county as affordable," said Suzie Dobbs, who coordinates Manatee County's affordable-housing programs as its community development manager.
While the price of the homes met the criteria as affordable housing, the second criteria that establishes a home as affordable limits the household income of a person eligible to buy such a home. "There were no such limitations there. That's just a house with a good price," Dobbs said. So far, the Cafe Collection cottages have been popular among retired couples, young couples without children and young families.
Tillman Elementary teacher Jennifer Lee was able to purchase a cottage, her first home, something she had thought she would be unable to do for a long time. "It is not often that a single teacher can have an opportunity like this," Lee said. The seven homeowners, who own a total of five homes in the community, want the court to order temporary and permanent injunctions or pay each plaintiff $15,000 in addition to attorney's fees and other expenses. "They just want construction to stop and they want their neighborhood back," Golm said.
Two or three of the new cottages have gone through the permitting stages and are underway and there are more to follow in Forest Creek and several other
Source: Bradenton.com