The Power of Partnership
A lack of affordable rental housing is widely accepted to be one of the biggest needs facing Indian River County. It can be difficult to quantify the shortfall precisely, but local leaders estimate that at least fifteen hundred more units are needed.
Clearly no organization can solve a problem this large by itself. Eve Kyomya Vendryes, Executive Director of Coalition for Attainable Homes, agrees. “No one entity can do it alone,” she says. “It takes all of us.”
The mission of Coalition for Attainable Homes (CAH) is “to create and preserve affordable housing in Indian River County through sustainable development and Community Land Trust stewardship providing ongoing stability for those in need.” The organization was founded as Every Dream Has a Price in 2008 by Julianne Price, an employee in the county Health Department who recognized an unmet need. Under her leadership, the organization began acquiring properties and making them available as rentals for vulnerable households unable to afford market prices.
In June of 2024, the organization, now known as the Coalition for Attainable Homes, was designated a Gold-Certified Community Land Trust by the Florida Housing Coalition. In July, 2025, Eve Vendryes was hired as executive director to lead the organization into the future.
Vendryes spent seven years working as a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity, both in Dallas and Indian River County, prior to taking on her current role, so she has a rich understanding of local housing needs and the nonprofits working to address them. She has just completed a training program on operating a community land trust and is enthusiastic about the benefits in store for our community.
A community land trust is designed to “hold in perpetuity land that will remain affordable,” Vendryes explains. This means that land owned by the trust will always be used for affordable housing, continuing to increase the community’s supply over time. Community trusts purchase land or receive donated parcels from local governments, developers, corporations, or private individuals interested in ensuring their donation will be used for affordable housing in perpetuity.
This permanence differentiates land trusts from other building incentives, such as low-income tax credits, that are required to keep units affordable for only a defined period of time. When that time elapses, units can be offered at market price, thus decreasing the area’s supply of affordable housing.
Community land trusts, instead, create a permanent community resource. They accomplish this permanence by “decoupling land ownership from homeownership.” For example, a home buyer can purchase a home built on land trust property at a reduced price because it doesn’t include the cost of the land, which remains the property of the trust. The homeowner can participate in the increasing value of the built structure over time. However, the fact that the trust retains ownership of the land and includes detailed regulations regarding the building’s sale ensures the property will remain affordable into the foreseeable future. Over time, this shared community resource builds a more resilient housing ecosystem.
Coalition for Attainable Homes hasn’t yet moved into the realm of selling homes to individual buyers. Instead, it’s applying the same principle to increasing the county’s supply of affordable rentals. Since its founding, Coalition for Attainable Homes has purchased or built seventeen units, a mix of duplexes and triplexes, which are used as affordable rentals in the Gifford community. The organization aims to keep rents at twenty-five percent of a household’s income, with a minimum rent of six hundred dollars. This minimum provides funds for maintaining the properties and keeping the program sustainable. A valuable partnership with Homeless Services Council provides property management and maintenance services.
Vendryes is thrilled by the level of collaboration she’s experiencing in the community. “It’s really exciting how the partnerships between the nonprofits in the space are growing,” she says. It’s as though the sheer magnitude of the problem is driving organizations to look for new ways to expand their reach. Vendryes says, “The problem is too big. There isn’t one solution. There’s really a level of cooperation frankly that I feel is so refreshing to me and it’s so nice to see.”
A case in point is CAH’s ongoing collaboration with Habitat for Humanity. A house in Grace Grove recently returned to Habitat ownership. They refurbished it and will sell the home to the coalition at a price that works for both organizations. When the deal closes in June, it will become the coalition’s eighteenth rental property. A house in Gifford Gardens, slated to be completed in December, is also earmarked for the land trust.
Habitat has also donated two parcels of land that weren’t suitable for their projects. Three more units will be built on these properties to provide additional affordable rentals that will belong to the community forever. For-profit developers are starting to come to the table as well. Vendryes is in conversation with Brandon Rouer, a local fireman who started a construction business to build affordable homes for veterans. He has already built several duplexes, triplexes and “tiny homes” that are priced under $200,000, and Vendryes hopes to extend that partnership.
With her office located in the UP Center, Vendryes is well positioned to keep increasing the coalition’s opportunities for collaboration. She is building relationships with the crisis navigators at United Against Poverty, identifying additional needs, and seeking creative opportunities for meeting them. It’s easy to understand why Jeff Francisco, Chief Strategy Officer for Habitat for Humanity, describes Vendryes as “someone who can take us to the next level.” Currently, she is the organization’s only employee, but a second person is slated to be hired soon, and Vendryes is grateful to have a very involved board that “serves as an extension of staffing resources.”
Several years ago, at a “State of the County” luncheon, one of the community leaders in the room observed that everyone was talking about the housing crisis, but nobody was doing anything. That was oversimplified, but it does seem that momentum is building. “There is a bit of a tipping point here right now in Indian River County,” Vandryes says. “None of us alone have everything … But if all of us have a piece, and then we come together, that’s powerful. I feel as if that’s what’s happening now.”
For Vendryes, the most encouraging development isn't a single project or property—it's the growing willingness of organizations to work together. In a challenge as complex as housing, that spirit of cooperation may prove to be the community's most valuable asset.