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Seacrest
to remain affordable By Alyson Matley The Monroe County Land Authority is set to close today on a $1.46 million sale that will assure affordable rents to 14 Marathon families. The Land Authority is purchasing the Seacrest Apartments on 91st Street and turning the parcel over to the nonprofit Middle Keys Community Land Trust. A restrictive covenant being placed on the deed will ensure that all 14 units remain affordable in perpetuity. "There are no current restrictions," Land Authority Director Mark Rosch said. "This was one of those currently affordable properties that was at risk of being lost for the affordable housing pool." The deed restriction will limit the rent to be charged. In addition, the property will be limited to rentals only. That, says County Commissioner David Rice, will avoid some issues that he says are cropping up with deed restrictions and their enforcement. Rice chairs the Land Authority. "There are some loopholes," Rice said. "Frequently, the attorneys involved in these sales exclude the affordable-housing clause from the title insurance. What happens is that place gets sold outside of the affordable-housing market. The deal closes and by the time [the county] finds out about it, you've got a new buyer who's paid for the property living in it. No one wants to enforce [the affordable-housing clause] after the fact." Rice said the the deed restriction maintaining Seacrest as a rental will avoid this issue, but county officials and developers are all looking more closely at creating housing that low- to moderate-income families can buy. "It's not a huge problem at this time," Rice said. "When we're putting public money into creating affordable housing, we want to know we're giving the public its money's worth. We want to have some way to enforce that it remains in the affordable market." The second phase of Tradewinds Hammock in Key Largo is likely to be the proving ground for this issue, Rice said. Although the first 66 units are set up as rentals for very low- and low-income households, the second phase of construction will create 52 units available for purchase by moderate-income families. Despite his trepidation about keeping affordable projects affordable, Rice commended the Community Land Trust. "Its a really great deal," he said, "and the Middle Keys Land Trust deserves a major gold star for finding that and working it through." Seacrest is already occupied, Rosch said, and it will be up to the trust, working with the county Housing Authority, to see that the current tenants meet income criteria. This new batch of affordable housing comes on the heels of the opening of Meridian West, a 102-unit rental complex for very-low- and low-income families on Stock Island. The city
of Key West is just readying to rent out its own 96-unit affordable
project, Roosevelt Gardens. That all-rental project is aimed at both low-
and moderate-income families. |
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