Progress Village: Tampa Bay's Black Homeownership Neighborhood

The Genesis of Progress Village

• 💡 Progress Village, located just outside Tampa's city limits, is a neighborhood with deep roots in Black history and community support.
• 🎯 The neighborhood was conceived in the late 1950s by local community leaders and businessmen with the explicit goal of creating an area where Black families could own their own homes.
• 🔑 This initiative aimed to provide Black families, many of whom were renting, the opportunity to become stakeholders in the community by owning property.

Affordability and Early Homeownership

• 💰 Homes in Progress Village were not very expensive when they first became available, with low mortgage payments and 30-year terms.
• 🏡 This affordability allowed individuals like Eloise Griffin, who moved in 60 years ago, and Fred Hearns, who purchased a home in 1964 after graduating, to achieve homeownership.

Community and Integration

• 🤝 Progress Village truly embodies its name, functioning as a "village" where everyone helps raise a child.
• 📈 As the county has grown, the neighborhood is experiencing changes, with an increase in apartments and new builds, leading to a more integrated and mixed community.
• ✅ Despite the changes, long-time residents express their love for the neighborhood and their commitment to remaining there, valuing it as a beautiful place.