Weeks after helping break ground on a new complex of affordable housing, Jacksonville nonprofit Ability Housing was announced as the recipient of a Northeast Florida Builders Association award.

Officially called the “Bill Soforenko Affordable Housing Award,” it recognizes efforts toward sustainable housing. Soforenko was the Builders Association’s president in 1972 and a strong advocate for affordable housing. The award is given in his honor.

“Ability Housing is honored to accept this award from NEFBA, an organization that has been working toward equity in housing affordability for decades,” Shannon Nazworth, Ability Housing’s president and CEO, said in a written release.

Launched in 1992, the nonprofit today develops affordable community-inclusive housing, serving low-income households, those with disabilities or exiting from homelessness. 

In early January, Ability Housing was one of the organizations that broke ground on a new complex of affordable housing that is mostly aimed at households of one or two wage-earners.

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Situated in West Augustine, just west of U.S. 1 and West King Street, the 92-unit apartment community will be called the Villages of St. Augustine. It’s expected to open in mid-2025. 

“When we see an organization within our community that exemplifies everything that Bill Soforenko stood for in his remarkable career, we want to take the time to honor that work,” Meagan Perkins, vice president of NEFBA, said in the release. 

Lead Image: Reggie Fullwood of Ability Housing’s board of directors, left, accepts the Bill Soforenko Affordable Housing Award from Northeast Florida Builders Association Board member Zach Scott with Ameris Bank. | Ability Housing