Orange County’s Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously this month to award developers nearly $21 million in funding, enabling the construction of five affordable housing communities in Orange County totaling 573 units around Orlando.
According to county officials, it is the largest Housing Trust Fund allocation in the program’s history.
“This approval is another testament to the County’s commitment to increase the stock of affordable units to our most vulnerable cost-burdened residents, with over 42% of those units earmarked for qualified seniors,” said Tanya Wilson, Director of Orange County’s Planning, Environmental and Development Services Department.
Most of the funding, $19 million, comes from the County’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, making this the largest allocation given out at one time since the trust fund was established in 2020 as part of Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ Housing for All Initiative.
The other $1.85 million comes from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program.
The Housing for All Task Force was convened in 2019 to provide practical and long-term solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Central Florida. Since then, Orange County has prioritized implementing recommendations from the task force.
The September grant approval includes the following awards:
- Southport Development, Inc. will receive $5.75 million toward 100 units at 2020 Old Dixie Highway
- Ulysses Development Group will receive $7 million toward 100 senior housing units at 1401 Duskin Avenue
- Banyan Development Group will receive $3 million toward 138 senior housing units at 416-420 Mariposa Street
- Archway Partners, LLC will receive $3 million toward 104 multifamily units at 4475 Rio Grande Avenue
- Elmington Affordable, LLC will receive $2.1 million toward 131 multifamily units at 10 and 30 South Ivey Lane
