Lots of room for affordable housing but financing is the hurdle, say city officials
BY PRU SOWERS
KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER
It’s not that there isn’t room to build literally hundreds of badly-needed new affordable housing apartments in Key West, it’s that there is no money to build them.
That was the upshot of a report presented to city commissioners by Senior Planner Kevin Bond on April 7. Directed by city commissioners in February to take a fine-toothed comb to any and all city-owned land that might be used for affordable and workforce housing, the planning department focused on two of the largest parcels first – Truman Waterfront and Poinciana Plaza – with further research and updates planned in May.
Bond said there is room to build 70 units of housing in one, three-story building located on 3.2 acres of land in the Truman Waterfront that currently houses the temporary ball fields next to the entrance of Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park. An additional 201 units could be shoehorned into the 34-acre Poinciana Plaza, build around and in between the existing buildings currently on that property. These two projects alone would require amending the city Comprehensive Plan as well as its Land Development Regulations. But all that is doable, Bond said. The sticking point is money. The 70 units at Truman Waterfront would cost an estimated $23 million to build. At Poinciana, a cost estimate is harder to make because the units would be spread out instead of located in one building. But Bond said the square foot costs for both projects would be similar, $392.
“Financing is the most challenging aspect of this,” Bond told commissioners.
While the Monroe County Land Authority is sitting on $9 million designated for land purchases in Key West designated as affordable housing sites, “that’s only a drop in the bucket of the total cost of a project this size,” Bond said. But there may be other financing options, including private and public bonds, tax credit options and Community Development Block Grants.
“This is the area, frankly, where we’ve got the most homework to do. It’s going to be the most challenging part,” Bond said.
A housing “white paper” written by former Key West City Planner Don Craig last year estimated the city needs an additional 3,000 units of affordable housing to meet the need of its working and lower class residents. Just finding a piece of undeveloped land within Key West’s boarders is difficult enough.
Convincing a developer to build a housing complex where the units will be rented or sold at prices significantly under market value is also another major hurdle.
But Bond’s housing report gave some life to the heretofore depressing predictions. Commissioner Teri Johnston renewed her push for the city to hire an affordable housing “czar” to push projects ahead.
“This [Bond’s report] really sets out a path. There are so many things that are doable,” Johnston said.
And Commissioner Jimmy Weekley asked if city officials would consider approaching the owners of Peary Court, the former military housing complex slated to be redeveloped into luxury housing. So far, the developers have not been able to come up with a plan that the Historic Architecture Review Commission (HARC) will approve. Since the project is effectively stalled, Weekley said, perhaps the city should consider buying the parcel and keeping it as workforce housing.
“There’s 160 units with an additional 48 affordable units that could be built there,” he said.
Newly-hired City Planner Thaddeus Cohen told Weekley he already had a meeting scheduled with Peary Court developers to get up to speed on that project.
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How truly odd! The inmates who run the asylum, aka “city commissioners” have no problems pouring vast quantities of cash into the lavish new asylum United and White streets, when there existing asylum could have been economically renovated.
But, when it comes to affordable housing, suddenly there is a shortage of available funds…hm?
Does there seem to be a serious breach of responsibility to the public, in favor of self-interest?
I agree with ‘Leroy’, but I don’t really agree that it has to be on the city to build the affordable housing. They need to do it for seniors at the waterfront, because that’s what we all voted for all those years ago. However, I don’t believe it is on them to provide affordable workforce housing. Nor do I think it is a good idea for the city to become a landlord. There are plenty of very wealthy individuals involved in building and construction who could do that job, easily. They don’t always have to turn such enormous profits, do they? Could they not be benevolent souls and build low cost affordable housing for the workers in Key West? And by affordable, I don’t mean $1150 for a shabby studio apartment. A true affordable studio would be $500 and a true affordable 1/1 would be $700, 2/2 would be $900, etc. They don’t have to be fancy places, just solid buildings with decent housing and amenities to make life a little easier on everyone who rents them . Don’t think that is too much to ask, do you?
Don’t you think it is time to look at the way our TAX DOLLARS are being spent? The payroll could use some major adjustments, ie number of employees and what they are doing to earn their salaries!