Habitat for Humanity marks 300th Citrus County home; 76 more planned in Phase 2

Habitat for Humanity celebrated the construction of its 300th home in Citrus County on a recent episode of the county’s program, Citrus County in Focus. A representative for the organization said the milestone came after 33 years of work and that the current community will eventually include 176 lots.

“So it took us 33 years from our founding to get to this 300th home… Overall, there's 176 lots, so 176 homes that will be in this community. We've built 100 so far… and we have 76 more homes to build in this phase 2 before we're built out, which I estimate will take, 2 years or less,” the Habitat representative said. The representative also provided an office number for inquiries, (352) 563-2744, and said the organization’s mission is to expand homeownership each year.

The milestone drew personal testimony from recent homeowners. One homeowner said, “It's impacted every bit of my life… I finally have a home where I can just, like, have a safe space.” Program host Steve Howard framed the project as giving people a “hand up” rather than a handout and noted the community benefits of stable homeownership.

Habitat’s representative emphasized the project’s long-term impact on families’ financial stability and neighborhood cohesion. The organization encouraged residents who need assistance or want to volunteer to call the provided office number. The program segment did not include a named Habitat spokesperson; quotes were attributed to a Habitat for Humanity representative appearing on the program.