West Volusia News

Volusia County issued the following announcement on July 22.

In the end, for Volusia County Council members, the math just made sense – to invest $23.15 per-month each on 216 apartment units in Daytona Beach to keep the rent affordable for lower income tenants.

On Tuesday, the council unanimously approved a 15-year incentive agreement with the developers of an apartment complex located on an approximately 24-acre site along Clyde Morris Boulevard just south of LPGA Boulevard. Called Clyde Morris Landing, the complex consists of 17 multifamily residential buildings – with many of the individual units already completed and occupied. The complex will be a mixture of units priced for low and moderate income residents and other units rented at the going market rate.

To help offset the price reduction on the 216 affordable units, the council agreed that the county will pay the developer $60,000 a year for 15 years, for a total of $900,000. In exchange, the units will be priced in the affordable range for the duration of the agreement. For example, for a family of three whose income is 60% of the median income, the monthly rent would be capped at $1,020. The county incentive works out to $23.15 per-month for each of the 216 affordable units over the 15-year time frame.

Council members, who’ve been discussing strategies to increase the availability of affordable housing in Volusia County, agreed that the project is a good deal for all involved. Last month, the Daytona Beach City Commission approved a similar deal with the developer – creating a three-way partnership to help address a critical need in the community.

“This is a perfect example of public-private partnership,” said Councilwoman Heather Post. “It’s certainly beneficial.”

Added council member Ben Johnson: “I think this is kind of a win-win.”

The owner of the complex will be required to file annual reports with the Florida Housing Finance Corp. every year to show that they’re complying with the affordable house rental rates. Pursuant to the agreement, the county and city will receive copies of the reports and could also have their own audits conducted to make sure that the owner is living up to the terms of the agreement.

The county currently is conducting a series of affordable housing webinars, which will culminate in a summit on Aug. 27 at the Ocean Center to help develop a proposed action plan for the County Council to consider.

Original source can be found here.