Florida affordable housing trends
Affordable housing developers face different obstacles across the state, but they’re all focused on innovative solutions.
In many ways, Jacksonville’s affordable housing landscape is reflective of the state overall. All income levels lack affordable housing—yet housing, construction and land costs remain high.
“The housing market is much hotter than it was four years ago,” said Shannon Nazworth, President and CEO of Ability Housing. “Prices are calming down, but they’re not coming down.”
“One of the biggest challenges is that we had a decrease in the affordable housing supply,” she said. Investors have purchased much of the area’s naturally occurring affordable housing and increased rents. Jacksonville has the second-highest concentration of institutional investment in the nation, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Institutional investor-owned homes constitute 21% of the city’s single-family rental market.
In this challenging environment, the city government has embraced the Live Local Act and dedicated $10 million to loans for affordable housing developers. The city is also leaning into public-private development efforts. For example, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to invest millions in community redevelopment, including affordable and workforce housing, when negotiating a new stadium with the city.
“As a leading travel destination, Orlando has a tourism and hospitality workforce of nearly 270,000 people,” said Jonathan Wolf, founder and CEO of Wendover Housing Partners. “Many of these hourly wage earners struggle to find safe, secure and affordable housing, especially near Orlando’s attractions district.”
That’s why employer-supported workforce housing plays a critical role in growing the affordable housing supply. Orlando’s Catchlight Crossings is a prime example. Through its Housing for Tomorrow initiative, Universal Destinations & Experiences pledged a 20-acre parcel of land for workforce housing. Universal chose Wendover Housing Partners to develop the 1,000-unit community, creating a meaningful relationship and an innovative way to help alleviate the affordable housing crisis.
“Many major employers possess land that could be ideal for affordable housing development,” Wolf said. “That land that Universal donated could have otherwise been developed into more hotels for its new theme park. Instead, they recognized the value of collaborating to create much-needed affordable housing for the tourist district community.”
Florida is a popular destination for retirees, and Tampa is no exception: 13% of the city’s population is age 65 or older, according to U.S. Census data. And there’s a growing need for affordable housing for this group. “Most seniors can barely afford even the ‘affordable’ rents,” Wilson said. “The area median income (AMI) has gone up a lot in each of the past two years, and that has actually priced out some great residents.”
Homelessness among older adults is on the rise. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report found that those 50 and older are the fastest-growing age group experiencing homelessness, and those 55 and older make up nearly 20% of the sheltered homeless population. These stats include many older adults experiencing homelessness for the first time.
To combat this troubling trend, the City of Tampa recently released a detailed plan to address the widespread need for affordable housing while prioritizing older people and other vulnerable populations.
Miami-Dade County faces a massive affordable housing crisis. According to a Miami Homes for All affordable housing pipeline analysis, the county needs $1.5 billion to fund 101 projects and 13,691 affordable housing units in the pipeline.
“The only solution is to increase the supply of affordable and workforce housing units,” said Alberto Milo Jr., president of Related Urban Development Group, Related Group’s affordable and workforce housing division.
“There’s a tremendous need for affordable housing in Miami at multiple income levels ranging from extremely low-income units at 30% AMI up to moderate-income units at 120% AMI,” he said. “That’s why Related Urban focuses on developing mixed-income developments that include a mixture of affordable and market rate units.”
The Gallery at West Brickell is among Related Urban’s mixed-income housing projects. The Class A mixed-income, mixed-use and transit-oriented development focuses on serving households priced out of the City of Miami. Of the properties’ 465 units, 35% are set aside for households at or below 50% or 140% of AMI.
