Manatee has high hopes for condo project
BY CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL
ELLENTON -- Manatee County revamped its affordable housing plan in October in response to rocketing house prices that have put home ownership out of reach for many low- and middle-income families.
County officials are hailing a new condo project in Ellenton as the first in the county to combine affordable, "work force" and 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 the county classifies as affordable.
Another quarter will be priced at about $192,000, considered "work force" housing. The rest would be sold at full market prices, about $230,000 to $250,000.
The project will be built on a 15-acre site on Ellenton Gillette Road at 29th Street East.
"They're actually proposing to do all three in the same project, which is wonderful," said Suzie Dobbs, the county's affordable/work force housing coordinator. "Hopefully, there's something for everyone."
Buyers paying full market prices would get more square footage and an attached garage. Each of the 14 proposed condo buildings will include each type of housing.
"We're hoping to avoid that feeling, 'Oh, that's an affordable housing project,'" said Ronda Gallehue, a vice president with the Barrington Group. "That's not really the case. People have to have jobs; they just can't make over a certain amount."
Local governments in Southwest Florida have been trying to draft effective affordable housing programs in the last few years as rocketing house values have priced lower- and middle-income families out of home ownership.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines consider families that spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing to be "cost burdened."
It's a classification that contains more than a quarter of Manatee households, according to recent Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse statistics.
The county's guidelines for affordable and "work force 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 same-size family with an income no higher than $75,000 would pay no more than $192,000 for work force housing.
Developments that include at least 10 percent "work force" or 25 percent affordable housing qualify for a faster approval process.
With construction and labor costs continually rising, the chance to cut down the review time to six months -- a process that normally takes between 18 and 24 months -- can mean big savings for developers, Dobbs said.
The problem of finding and retaining employees in a market where the median home price is about $322,000 is also forcing home builders to include lower-priced housing, Dobbs said.
"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.
County officials are hailing a new condo project in Ellenton as the first in the county to combine affordable, "work force" and 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 the county classifies as affordable.
Another quarter will be priced at about $192,000, considered "work force" housing. The rest would be sold at full market prices, about $230,000 to $250,000.
The project will be built on a 15-acre site on Ellenton Gillette Road at 29th Street East.
"They're actually proposing to do all three in the same project, which is wonderful," said Suzie Dobbs, the county's affordable/work force housing coordinator. "Hopefully, there's something for everyone."
Buyers paying full market prices would get more square footage and an attached garage. Each of the 14 proposed condo buildings will include each type of housing.
"We're hoping to avoid that feeling, 'Oh, that's an affordable housing project,'" said Ronda Gallehue, a vice president with the Barrington Group. "That's not really the case. People have to have jobs; they just can't make over a certain amount."
Local governments in Southwest Florida have been trying to draft effective affordable housing programs in the last few years as rocketing house values have priced lower- and middle-income families out of home ownership.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines consider families that spend more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing to be "cost burdened."
It's a classification that contains more than a quarter of Manatee households, according to recent Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse statistics.
The county's guidelines for affordable and "work force 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 same-size family with an income no higher than $75,000 would pay no more than $192,000 for work force housing.
Developments that include at least 10 percent "work force" or 25 percent affordable housing qualify for a faster approval process.
With construction and labor costs continually rising, the chance to cut down the review time to six months -- a process that normally takes between 18 and 24 months -- can mean big savings for developers, Dobbs said.
The problem of finding and retaining employees in a market where the median home price is about $322,000 is also forcing home builders to include lower-priced housing, Dobbs said.
"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.
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