Navy looking into reopening vacant Sigsbee Park apartments

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

An effort to help alleviate the affordable housing shortage in Key West by convincing the U.S. Navy to reopen 166 vacant apartments in Sigsbee Park is moving ahead.

City Manager Jim Scholl has received a copy of a letter from Steven R. Iselin, principal deputy in Navy Department, saying the Navy wants to help its civilian employees at Naval Air Station Key West find “suitable affordable housing.” As a result, Navy brass have ordered a study into how the apartments, which have been empty for five years, might be reopened. Sigsbee Park, owned by the Navy, is an island about a half mile north of Key West

“Given the interest in their reuse, the Navy is conducting studies and market analyses on the feasibility of reactivating the housing and the potential for third-party options. The final results of these studies are expected in June,” Iselin wrote in a letter to Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo.

Curbelo and three other U.S. Representatives from Florida toured the facility on Jan. 15 at the urging of Key West City Commissioner Sam Kaufman. Kaufman had contacted Curbelo’s office asking for help in alerting Navy officials to the urgent need for more affordable housing in Key West. While Navy Air Station Key West commanding officer Capt. Steve McAlearney, who also went on the January tour, was receptive to the idea of making the apartments available to active-duty military personnel stationed in the area, the decision to reopen Sigsbee Park can only be made by top Navy officials.

“The process is moving forward.  We should have more information in June,” Scholl told Mayor Craig Cates and commissioners.

Calling the 166 vacant units “move-in ready,” Kaufman believes the apartments can house Navy personnel who currently rent homes in Key West, potentially vacating dozens of non-military rental units that would then be available to local workers and families looking for affordable rental housing.

“This is great news for everyone in Key West concerned about affordable housing. I am also grateful that the Navy acknowledges the potential for civilian employees and third parties to have this opportunity for affordable housing,” Kaufman said, adding, “I am hopeful that the Navy and federal officials can expedite this process which it appears they are doing. We should applaud them for pushing this forward on our behalf.”

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