DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The veteran who danced his way into America’s hearts in 2011 is now two-stepping into the Texas Hill Country — and supporting military families along the way. Celebrated Army veteran, actor, motivational speaker and author J.R. Martinez has purchased a new home site at Vintage Oaks in New Braunfels, Texas. He’s also working with charity Operation FINALLY HOME and residential real estate developer SouthStar Communities to support veterans who face challenges with the cost of homeownership after being injured in the line of duty.
Operation FINALLY HOME partners with corporate sponsors, builders, developers and volunteers to provide custom-built, mortgage-free homes to wounded and disabled veterans and the widows of the fallen. SouthStar provides acreage for custom-built homes across Texas, including Vintage Oaks in New Braunfels, where Martinez recently purchased property and autographed copies of his book to support the charity. Working with the nonprofit, SouthStar has donated three lots to veterans in Vintage Oaks, one in The Sanctuary at Lake Ridge in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and one in its King Oaks community, a development located near College Station, Texas.
On Saturday, June 29, Martinez, SouthStar and Operation FINALLY HOME will welcome home veteran Monte Bernardo to the site of his new custom-built home in the King Oaks development. Bernardo will be seeing his home site for the first time since being injured in the line of duty on July 4th last year. His home is being provided through the charity and the land has been donated by SouthStar. Local residents will be signing the framing boards of Bernardo’s home with messages of support, and Martinez will autograph copies of his book, providing all proceeds to Operation FINALLY HOME.
According to the Center for Housing Policy, nearly 1 million veterans who own homes are severely cost burdened, despite having access to VA loans and other assistance. Veterans with severe housing cost burdens are more likely to have a disability than other veterans. And, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the number of veterans with a service-connected disability has grown 46 percent since 1990, to more than 3.3 million.
To date, Operation FINALLY HOME has built more than 28 homes in 18 Texas cities and more across other regions of the U.S. It has construction work under way on homes in Alamo Heights, Gunter, Bryan-College Station, League City and Lubbock with brand new homes pending in Amarillo, Buda, Dallas, Fort Worth, Killeen and New Braunfels.
About SouthStar Communities
SouthStar Communities is a residential real estate development company based in Dallas, Texas, with master-planned properties throughout the South. The company is affiliated with SouthStar Development Partners, and led by CEO J. Larry Rutherford, who has worked in all areas of the real estate industry for nearly four decades. Since 1999, SouthStar has developed 20 communities throughout Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The firm’s primary activities include the analysis, financing, acquisition, planning and marketing of real estate for both residential and commercial uses. For more information, visit www.southstarcommunities.com.