Poling Gardens
Poling Gardens, located in the West Samoset area of Bradenton, is Manatee Habitat’s current home development project. Construction of this community started in December 2022, and by mid-2025, all 16 houses in the community will be home to local families in need. These single-family homes will be sold to low-income homeowners with a zero-interest affordable mortgage.
Once a tomato farm owned by the Poling family, this development will comprise charming three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes constructed with green building techniques like metal roofs, spray foam insulation, and ICF blocks.
Manatee Habitat is intentional about providing affordable housing in neighborhoods looking to increase the financial stability of their residents. Poling Gardens is located in a Racially and Economically Concentrated Area of Poverty as designated by the county. While our brand-new Habitat houses will improve the appearance of the West Samoset community and, in turn, increase its social capital and property values, we have ensured that our simple, sustainable homes will fit in with the character of the existing neighborhood. We have worked with the county to carefully find the balance between improving the area, but not to the point that we gentrify it.
Manatee Habitat is committed to ensuring that our homeowners live in environments of opportunity and security. By working with the county to invest in the economic development of West Samoset, we are improving the neighborhood that our Poling Gardens families will call home for generations to come and expanding our reach by positively impacting residents in the existing community.