The long-awaited affordable housing at Truman Waterfront moved ahead Tuesday night, when officials leased the land to the group they chose to build it. They met the looming deadline to apply for $7 million in state funding, but not without some foot-dragging.
The Lofts at Bahama Village LLC will build about 126 affordable workforce housing units on the last 3.2 acres of the waterfront parcel.
“Ninety-eight (98) of the units will be for rent and the remaining twenty-eight (28) units will be for homeownership,” states the project summary.
The land has been earmarked for housing for 20 years, and voters authorized the long-term lease to the development group in January. But some residents urged officials to postpone the approval on Tuesday night, and some officials lamented the now-or-never funding deadline they faced.
“We feel the public hasn’t had sufficient opportunity to look at this lease,” speaker John Wilson Smith told the commissioners, who also pointed to concerns raised by resident Lakay Barnett.
Postponing the lease approval would have jeopardized millions of dollars available from the state for the development, Commissioner Sam Kaufman said.
The 3.2-acre lease is crucial for The Lofts to meet the state funding application deadline of March 31, said The Lofts’ attorney, Bart Smith.
The Lofts is eligible for up to $7 million in state funding and tax credits for the rental portion of the neighborhood, Smith said. But in order to apply for the funding, developers must have long-term “site control” of the housing parcel to ensure it remains affordable for at least 50 years.
“The Lofts is seeking financing through Florida Housing Finance Corporation and an executed ground lease is one of the requirements of the application,” states the project summary. “Due to the specific financing for the rental aspect of the project, time is of essence when it comes to approval of this particular ground lease. The application is due on or before March 31, 2022.”
The city on March 15 leased the 3.2-acre parcel to The Lofts for 99 years, officially giving the group site control.
To approve the lease, the city commissioners reconvened after the commission meeting as the “Local Redevelopment Authority,” which governs property the city receives from the Navy, including Truman Waterfront.
“There’s $5.5 million in (state funding) and $1.8 available in tax credits,” Smith said. “I’ve looked for other projects in Monroe County that would be eligible in this funding cycle, and I haven’t found any. It’s a tremendous amount of money. If we approve this tonight, and we get the application in and comply with all its requirements, the funding is there for us. This is a rare, rare opportunity. Next year, there will be other projects applying.”
Smith emphasized that the Florida Housing Finance Corporation has specific requirements for its funding applications, and any additional language or restrictions the city chose to add to the application could disqualify it.
“It’s a concern to me that this commission is put in a position to approve this tonight or lose the funding cycle,” Mayor Teri Johnston said, wanting to amend the state funding application to include the city’s criteria for workforce housing — that 70% of income is earned in Monroe County.
Smith warned against adding any restrictions that may not comply with the application requirements or with the Fair Housing Act, and in turn disqualify the application.
“This has gone on too long,” Commissioner Billy Wardlow said, cutting off the equivocation and moving to approve the 99-year lease. “Let’s do it.”
