On June 13, the Leon County Commission will consider a funding request from the Tallahassee Housing Authority (THA) to assist in its effort to secure tax credit funding through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC). The THA is requesting Leon County, the City of Tallahassee, and the Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency to provide $1 million each for a total of $3 million to address a funding gap for the third phase of the Orange Avenue Apartments redevelopment project prior to applying for tax credit funding.
County funding be provided in available Emergency Rental Assistance funding under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released revised guidance which allows for the utilization of these funds for the construction of affordable rental housing projects.
According to the staff analysis, additional funding for the third phase of the redevelopment of Orange Avenue Apartments will address the highest affordable housing need which is affordable rental units for very-low-income households in Leon County by creating additional affordable housing rental units.
The overall project (four phases) would increase the number of affordable housing units on the property 100% from 200 units to 400-410 units.
Construction has commenced for the first and second phases of the redevelopment of Orange Avenue Apartments which will build a total of 290 units. To date, the County has contributed $4.27 million to the overall project (equivalent to the City’s contribution) and authorized $18 million in bond financing which was critical to the funding of the first phase of the project.
The direct funding provided by the County and City has allowed the Orange Avenue Apartments to secure more than $80 million in tax credits, bonds, and private financing for the first and second phases. The additional funding request will assist THA in its effort to secure additional tax credit for the third phase Orange Avenue redevelopment project for seniors (62 years old and up) and ultimately construct 90 affordable rental units for total of 380 units for all three phases.
The agenda item states that “approval by the Board would ensure that the County and City continues to be equal financial partners on the project and increase the total local investment (County and City) to $11.53 million for the redevelopment of the Orange Avenue Apartments.”
According to the THA, the FHFC requires that funding for the financial gap be identified and formally committed by the end of June 2023 in preparation for the FHFC Board meeting in July 2023. The project will be awarded in fall 2023. Upon the Board’s approval of THA’s request for funding assistance to support phase three, the County Administrator would execute the required commitment letter to the FHFC.
Tallahassee Housing Authority Requests More Funding for Orange Avenue Apartments Redevelopment added by Steve Stewart on
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Throwing more money into a black hole.
Perhaps Porter and Matlow can redirect the LEO budget towards this haven and defund their hated department.
We all know, and have been told endlessly, that all we need do is treat this demographic like it is something special and all the issues will just go away like magic.
Meanwhile, this formerly peaceful white working class area, now ghetto, suffers from severe crime – no doubt due to lack of money thrown at it and the developers making a profit at the expense of our city.
The need for more housing is evidence the 32304’s out of wedlock births are increasing, high school dropout rates are increasing and crime continues to be the major employer. Some people you cannot help. Obviously the community’s plans to eliminate poverty have failed. Stop making the taxpayer pay the way for those that elected to make intentional bad choices.
Of course they need MORE Funding…….. It was over Designed from the start.
I smell Bethel.
The same idiots spent half a million dollars on the bus stop at Orange and Meridian and all it did was provide a nice, well shaded area for drug dealers to hang out and sell drugs all day long.
Every time I stop at that light I can see them selling the stuff in broad daylight.
You can’t put poor people in charge of large sums of money they didn’t earn, they will blow it every time. Then they demand more…
Who didn’t see this coming?
“Always More; Never Enough”
EIGHTY.MILLION.DOLLARS……and still climbing.