Officials Laud Manatee County Condo Project; Housing Affordability Concerns Addressed

Last October, Manatee County revamped its affordable housing planning to combat the rising house prices that have put home ownership out of reach for many area families. Now, county officials are hailing a new condo project in Ellenton, Fla., as the first step in the county’s efforts to combine affordable, or “workforce,” market-priced housing.

At least 25 percent of the 136 condos developed by the Barrington Group will be offered at about $160,000, a price Manatee County classifies as affordable in the Southwest Florida housing market. Another 25 percent will be priced around $192,000, a level considered attainable for those seeking “workforce” housing. The rest would be sold at full market price, or between $230,000 and $250,000.

“They’re actually proposing to do all three in the same project, which is wonderful. Hopefully, there’s something for everyone,” said Suzie Dobbs, the county’s affordable/workforce housing coordinator.

Buyers paying full market price will get more square footage and a garage attached. Each of the 14 proposed buildings will include each of the three types of housing.

This news comes as the latest in a string of efforts by many Florida cities to combat the growing housing affordability crisis. On the other side of the state, Coral Springs recently adopted the Broward County real estate market’s first official ordinance (although that plan is centered around Florida home loan assistance for prospective middle-income buyers). Lee County officials have also been actively pursuing a solution to the problem.

“We’re hoping to avoid that feeling, ‘Oh, that’s an affordable housing project,’ That’s not really the case. People have to have jobs; they just can’t make over a certain amount,” said Ronda Gallehue, a V.P. with the Barrington Group.

Local governments in Southwest Florida have been trying to draft effective housing programs in the last few years as rocketing housing costs have priced more and more working families out of home ownership. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines families that spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing to be “cost burdened.”

That classification comprises more than a quarter of Manatee households, according to recent Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse statistics.

• The county’s guidelines for affordable and “workforce” housing are based on family size and income.
• A family of four with an income of $70,080 or less would qualify for “affordable housing” that costs no more than $160,000.
• A family with an income no higher than $75,000 would pay no more than $192,000 for workforce housing.
• Developments that set aside at least 10 percent of their units for “workforce” housing, or 25 percent for affordable housing, qualify for a faster approval process from the county.

With construction and labor costs continually rising, the chance to cut down the review time to six months - a process that normally takes 18-24 months - can mean big savings for the area’s builders and developers. The problem of finding and retaining employees in a market where the median price is about $322,000 is also forcing builders to include lower-priced housing.

And, with Florida home loans rising more than a full percentage point in the last 12 months, and looking like they may inch higher still as the year progresses, housing demand won’t be what it once was, and builders are having to reassess their thinking.

“We do have certain developers that really want to do this because there’s such a lack of housing below the $300,000 range that it’s handicapping them,” Dobbs said.