The Florida Keys got one-time approval from the state to spend $35 million of surplus tourism revenue on affordable housing. But that may have been the easy part.
Now an assortment of government officials, elected politicians, property owners, developers, tourism experts and hospitality professionals have to agree on how and where to spend the money to benefit the most working residents and get the most for their money.
“We don’t want this to become a food fight,” county Mayor Holly Raschein, who sits on the Tourist Development Council (TDC) board, said at the Sept. 17 TDC meeting. That agency collects tourism tax revenue from visitors, known as bed tax. That money is typically spent to advertise the Keys and special events and for capital improvements to tourism-based properties.
But last year, the Florida Legislature authorized the TDC to spend a $35 million surplus — collected largely during the COVID pandemic — on affordable housing for workers in tourism industries.
The Sept. 17 TDC meeting marked the beginning of discussions on how best to spend the money.
“The county commission had discussed putting together a committee that includes all the stakeholders in this, including the lodging association, the restaurant association, the chambers of commerce and others to figure out how to use these funds,” Raschein said. “Everyone this is supposed to help should be involved in these discussions. If we put the housing where it’s needed and charge what we need to charge to keep it affordable, then I think we can spend this money wisely.”
The rest of the board agreed with involving all the groups she mentioned, along with the Key West and Monroe County housing authorities, as well as Habitat for Humanity and AH Monroe, which have experience building and operating affordable housing.
The lion’s share of the tourism revenue comes from the Key West area, known as District Advisory Committee 1 (DAC1),
“But we’ll need to identify available land and may consider working with the private sector to build and manage this,” Raschein said. “Key West may not have a lot of space where housing can be built, but maybe we can put some housing right outside Key West, where that workforce lives.”
Tentative discussion was had about divvying up the $35 million among the five districts of the Keys, according to the percentage of tourism revenue each collects, but again, discussions are just beginning.
Jodi Weinhoder, president of the Lodging Association of the Florida Keys & Key West, reminded the TDC board that “we need this housing yesterday, and our workers need this housing yesterday.”
Weinhofer suggested that the committee consider using some of the money to buy existing multi-unit properties that can be converted into small apartments based on the need rather than having to find and acquire land, then design the buildings and construct them. Her suggestion was well received by the board.
The county commissioners are expected to revisit the discussion at their October meeting.
