Boca Raton Lags, Delray Beach Excels in Affordable Housing Push
South Florida has become one of the world’s least affordable markets for housing, and for several years now, Boca Raton has been struggling with the issue of affordable housing.
An ordinance addressing the problem has long been in the draft stages, but has yet to see the light of day. But right across the border in Delray Beach, city officials are applauding the fact that the community has an affordable housing ordinance, a land trust and homes that are occupied by middle-income workers.
The only actual step Boca Raton has taken is to create a trust fund for affordable housing. The Stiles Corp. of Fort Lauderdale, which plans to build 172 homes on Yamato Road, has chipped in $3 million.
But there is no ordinance dictating how the fund can be used.
This past week, Delray Beach climbed a couple of rungs on the affordable housing ladder by approving zoning changes allowing for mixed-use developments to include workforce housing provisions.
When you’re struggling to afford a Florida mortgage, as many are, that can make all the difference in the world. The community also signed off on a $200 million deal to demolish the hurricane-damaged and vacant Carver Estates project and develop workforce housing there.
The Delray Beach Housing Authority (DBHA) voted unanimously to designate Auburn Development Group as the master developer.
The move conveyed the 18 acres into a public/private partnership between the Housing Authority and Auburn, marking the first step in what will be the development of the Villages of Delray, a $200 million, 50-acre mixed-use, mixed-income community.
Officials said it will have market rate rental and for-sale homes, as well as workforce and affordable housing for those who can afford only modest Florida mortgage loans. With more than 400 residences, this becomes the state’s largest community of its kind, officials believe.
The 18 acres will be combined with 11 acres being provided to the public-private partnership by Auburn Development for the workforce and affordable rental housing component of this community. The community is located east of I-95, between Linton Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, about a mile and a half from the ocean and less than one mile from downtown.
“The Housing Authority is excited about beginning the development of this area and providing quality housing for our citizens,” said Joseph Bernadel, chairman of the Delray Beach Housing Authority (DBHA).
“This community is part of the ongoing efforts toward the growth of Delray Beach. It is our hope that this will be a national and statewide model for how the public and private sectors can work together to provide affordable housing opportunities for a wide range of residents.”
