CRESTVIEW — City Council members have unanimously expressed support for developing affordable housing off Brookmeade Drive.
Vestcor Development Corporation, of Jacksonville, has proposed building a three-story, 120-unit apartment complex off Brookemeade Drive for senior citizens earning less than 60 percent of Okaloosa’s $64,000 median income.
The project, which includes a request that the city waive $20,000 in water connection fees, hinges on an annexation agreement, Vestcor representative Stephen Fricksaid. The waived fees would assist in applying for low-income housing tax credits through the Florida Housing Financing Corporation.
A 120-unit development’s water connection fees typically would be around $54,000, city planner Eric Davis said. After completion, the structure could earn the city $25,000 in tax revenue.
The council, which agreed on Sept. 9 to waive the water connection fees, has done the same for Addison Place and Spring Creek Apartments, Davis said.
Frick said his company provides a need to Okaloosa County.
"There is a drastic under-service of affordable senior deals in medium-sized counties … Okaloosa being one," he said.
"I think it's needed…because we serve the elderly of Crestview," Councilman Shannon Hayes said.
Vestcor will present the property owners’ annexation agreement during a future council meeting.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview seniors’ affordable housing in development