Sanibel's Community Housing and Resources (CHR) is gearing up to expand now that the last available unit, recently renovated following Hurricane Ian's damage, is now home to a new tenant.
Who moved into the last unit? The first woman evacuated off the island when it was safe for rescue boats to go out after the storm hit.
Marylou Holler, who works at the Dunes Golf and Tennis Club, can officially call Sanibel home again after joining the housing program for the first time.
"Before Ian, I was making a decent living on the island, and I could afford to live here," Holler said. "After the storm, that was no longer the case. They rebuilt and repaired the cottage that I lived in, and they raised the rent by three-quarters."
Holler, who spent the majority of Ian sheltering under a stairwell, wasn't sure if she wanted to return to the island, but the option of workforce housing gave her the opportunity.
"Once I got back (on Sanibel) and I saw all my friends, I realized at that point, I'm coming home where I belong," she said.
"It can be hard to get help to come and work on a barrier island. Even from Fort Myers, it can take more than an hour in traffic."
"We house nonprofit workers, we house police workers, city employees, restaurant workers," said Savannah Miller-Berg, CHR deputy executive director. "We also provide housing to seniors."
CHR has nine properties total; the tenth had to be demolished after Ian. On Periwinkle Way, behind the 711, the lot where the complex once stood, CHR plans to build a new two-complex property.
Miller-Berg told NBC2 they are designing the property to attract a key demographic: young, lower-income workers. CHR hopes to break ground in December.
The nonprofit recently received the Florida Housing Coalitions Storytellers award at the state conference on Aug. 26.