The long-awaited and desperately needed workforce housing at Truman Waterfront known as The Lofts took another step closer to fruition last week, when Key West officials approved the necessary 99-year ground lease for the homeownership segment of the new development.
In order to keep rents and home prices low enough to be affordable, the developers lease the land underneath the new housing from the city and restrict it in perpetuity so it can never be sold at market value. The city commissioners voted 6-1 to approve the ground lease, with Commissioner Sam Kaufman dissenting.
The new neighborhood will include 98 rental apartments and 28 units that will be available for homeownership.
But don’t get sticker shock by the supposedly affordable purchase price of $667,000 for a two-bedroom home that’s mentioned in the lease documents, said Scott Pridgen, executive director of AH Monroe, which is part of the housing development team.
The city’s code includes an affordable housing and income formula that prevents owned homes from being affordable, Pridgen said, emphasizing that city officials are now working on changing the code; that will bring the home sale price down to $345,000 to $415,000. The adjusted formula will also require an infusion of money from the county land trust to make up the difference between the lower sale price and the cost to the developer to build the homes, Pridgen said.
“It will take months to change the code, and we can’t start the construction application process without having the ground lease approved,” he told the Keys Weekly on July 12. “So we went ahead and approved the lease so we can move ahead. Meanwhile, we’re working with the city to change the code and the formula.”
The code change will likely be ready for approval at an August city commission meeting.
Meanwhile, the estimated eight-month process for planning and permitting now can begin, Pridgen said.
He hopes to break ground on The Lofts around March 2023. At that point, the group can start accepting applications from interested renters and potential buyers.
“We won’t start the application process until we break ground,” Pridgen said. “We’re still too far out to start qualifying people for rental or mortgages.”
Then construction will likely take about 14 months, he said, for completion around May 2024.
“We are behind in the process, but government moves slowly,” he said. “The city was supposed to have the lease ready in February, but the staff has been great to work with.”
Who can apply for the housing?
Federal rules prohibit housing discrimination, but they do allow people who live in a particular census area that’s struggling or marginalized to be prioritized on a waiting list, Pridgen said.
Current residents of Bahama Village will be in the first priority on the waitlist.
“Once we determine how many of those applicants are eligible for the housing, if we still have units left, we’ll open it to families living in Key West. The third priority group is singles in Key West and the fourth priority group will open applications to anyone living in Monroe County. But they still must qualify under the income guidelines.”
All applications will be handled through the coming interactive website, he emphasized.
People who are currently on a waiting list with the housing authority will not get priority and must file a new application with The Lofts at Bahama Village, Pridgen said.
