Liberty City mural, Miami PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG

MIAMI, Fla. – Amid a housing crisis in South Florida, two real estate development companies are planning to build affordable residential units in two of Miami-Dade County’s historic Black communities – Liberty City and Goulds.

Broward County also has stepped up efforts to tackle the affordable housing crunch by giving financial assistance to development projects for 340 new attainable homes in Fort Lauderdale, Lauderhill and Hollywood.

Integral Group, a Black owned company based in Atlanta, is proposing to build 135 housing units and commercial spaces on roughly 14,000 square-foot property at 1196 and 1199 N.W. 62nd Street, for people earning 50 percent to 140 percent of Miami-Dade’s median income.

The median household income in the county is $57,815.

Liberty City is a majority Black neighborhood where the median household income is $33,770.

Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) broke ground last week on Meridian Point, a 113-unit affordable housing development near the intersection of Southwest 216 Street and U.S. 1 in Goulds.

POAH’s project costs are estimated at $52.7 million, according to county records.

Miami City commissioners last week voted to transfer the 14,000-square-foot lot in Liberty City to Integral Group, through affiliate Yaeger Plaza Partners, without financial compensation in exchange for promising to build the affordable housing units.

Integral Group, which since 1993 has built homes in urban neighborhoods around the country, filed a zoning application last year for about 0.96 acres of the property which it already owns near the Liberty City site.

According to city records, the company requested the city transfer ownership of the remaining property for the eight-story building that includes affordable units, 16,500 square feet of commercial space with a clinic which will provide affordable primary health care for low- to moderate-income people, and 241 parking spots.

"The city administration recommends transferring with restrictions and automatic reverter provisions the city-owned parcel to the developer; and allows for the conveyance or disposition of city-owned property for the implementation of projects which are intended to benefit persons or households with low and/or moderate income," the agreement states.

“MIAMI CITY COMMISSIONERS LAST WEEK VOTED TO TRANSFER THE 14,000SQUARE-FOOT LOT IN LIBERTY CITY TO INTEGRAL GROUP, THROUGH AFFILIATE YAEGER PLAZA PARTNERS, WITHOUT FINANCIAL COMPENSATION IN EXCHANGE FOR PROMISING TO BUILD THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.”

POAH’s project in Goulds includes an 80-unit, seven-story midrise and a 33-unit, three-story garden building with one- to three-bedroom apartments, a fitness center, playgrounds and two community meeting and recreation rooms.

Meridian Point’s location will provide access to public transportation, retail amenities, healthcare services and employment centers.

According to the zoning agreement, the development will host residents across an income range, with 68 of the 113 apartments receiving Project-Base

Rental Assistance via a Section 8 Housing Assistance payment contract with the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and 45 targeted to residents earning up to 80 percent of area median income.

Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) is a nonprofit developer, owner and operator of nearly 13,000 affordable homes in 11 states and the District of Columbia, including 10 in Florida with a total of 1,477 apartments.

POAH said its primary mission is to preserve, create and sustain affordable, healthy homes that support economic security, racial equity, and access to opportunity for all.

POAH specializes in the preservation of existing affordable housing that is at risk of being lost due to market pressures or physical deterioration.

Soaring rent rates are driving people out of Miami-Dade and leaving some people homeless and sleeping in their cars.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kionne McGhee, whose district includes Goulds, said area residents are outraged by the skyrocketing cost of housing, which has become an insult to hardworking families struggling to make ends meet.

"Securing affordable housing is an urgent need, and while this initiative is just a small drop in the ocean of need, it’s a step in the right direction towards providing assistance to those who need it most," McGhee said at the groundbreaking ceremony. "Let’s work together to make affordable housing a reality for all Miami-Dade residents."

In Broward County, city officials agreed to fund an estimated $12.9 million to fill the financing gap to build 340 new affordable homes for low- and moderate-income residents in Lauderhill, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood.

The county is bankrolling $3.9 million for Sistrunk apartments, a proposed 72-affordable housing unit community going up in Lauderdale, $7 million for 144 affordable homes called Residences at Sunset Plaza in Lauderhill, and $2 million for 124 affordable housing units called Federation Plaza in Hollywood.

City officials also approved a local match of $100,000 for University Station, a proposed 200- unit affordable housing project in Hollywood.

A local match is required in order to become eligible for matching Florida State housing funds.

"We are on a roll here. It is amazing the progress that we are making with the limited land we have available to us," said Vice Mayor Nan Rich, who’s championed the affordable housing effort

Rich said since 2018 the county has spent more than $100 million to help build over 2,500 affordable homes.