TRUMAN WATERFRONT HOUSING COULD BREAK GROUND IN OCTOBER

The Lofts At Bahama Village Still A Ways Off From Application Process

MANDY MILES mandy@keysweekly.com

The long-awaited workforce housing neighborhood at Truman Waterfront is working its way through funding, permitting and approval processes in the hopes of breaking ground around October.

After that, construction will take about 18 months. The application process for potential renters and homeowners will take place six months before the new community’s “opening day,” said Scott Pridgen, executive director of AH Monroe, which is part of the community’s development team.

Known as The Lofts at Bahama Village, the new neighborhood will feature 98 rental units and 28 home ownership townhouses, with rent and purchase prices based on income.

The units will be built on the last 3.2 acres of the Truman Waterfront property, which the city of Key West received from the Navy back around 1998.

The project developers on April 10 hosted a community meeting to update the public about the plans and timeline. Approximately 80 people filled the William Weech American Legion hall on Emma to hear the update and ask questions.

Pridgen reviewed the income guidelines that will determine eligibility for the rentals and owned homes. Units will be available for people making 40% to 160% of the Area Median Income, but Pridgen cautioned attendees that the AMI and income guidelines change every year, so it’s too soon to start accepting applications and determining eligibility.

“We’re not there yet,” he said. “We’re nowhere near there.”

But based on today’s figures, households making 60% to 80% of the AMI would pay $229,000 for a two-bedroom home and $254,000 for a three-bedroom.

For people making more than that, there are some issues to be resolved among the city of Key West, the Key West Land Authority and the development team. The developers include the for-profit company Vestcor, based in Jacksonville, and the local nonprofit AH Monroe, which has built and manages several affordable housing developments in Key West, including Poinciana Royale and Marty’s Place.

As the income formula stands now, people making 81% to 140% of the AMI would have to pay $595,000 for a two-bedroom home and $661,000 for a three-bedroom — prices that everyone acknowledges are hardly affordable. Those higher prices would apply to 14 of the 28 owned homes and would eliminate the affordable aspect of those homes.

The developers have asked the Key West Land Authority for about $4.2 million that would lower those prices to affordable levels. But that money comes with strings attached, the developers said. And if they accept the land authority money to lower the home prices for the higher income levels, then homeowners at The Lofts would be required to requalify for their home every year, and anyone who ends up earning more than the income limits — even if it’s years after they bought their house — would be forced to sell it and move out.

“We don’t want that to happen,” Pridgen said, adding that the team is working to resolve the issue, which could require state legislative action.

Stay tuned to keysweekly.com as the project continues.

STATE COMMITTEES

Attainable Workforce Housing Committee

Member-Elect 2023

State Insurance Committee

Member-Elect 2023

Legislative + Regulatory Business Committee

Member-Elect 2023

2023 PRESIDENT OF THE KEY WEST ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

Florida Governor DeSantis recently signed the "Live Local Act," one of the largest and most significant acts of legislation in recent history that will help more Floridians attain the American Dream of home ownership.

I was honored to be present in Tallahassee for the signing last week with the Key West Association of Realtors, our PresidentElect Darrin Smith, CEO Darla Frye-Guevremont, District 4 VP Jamie Caballero, local broker Stacy Stahl and the leadership of Florida Realtors.

Florida Realtors will continue to be the voice of real estate in Florida and in Washington, DC. Myself and the rest of our leadership team are battling at the state and federal level for lower inurance rates and answers to the long-debated issue of attainable housing.

Thank you,

Derek Epperly Principal Broker