In an effort to address and discuss affordable housing needs in the Central Florida region, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs will host the Regional Affordable Housing Summit on October 20, 2016. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Orange County Convention Center in the West Concourse. The summit will bring together planners, developers, local government leaders and others from across the region to discuss strategies for more affordable housing options. The registration cost is $25 and 5.5 credits are available for the American Institute of Certified Planners.
“It’s imperative that Orange County explore a variety of available housing options to encourage a more inclusive housing market conducive to sustainable communities,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs. “This Regional Housing Summit tackles a wide variety of issues and solutions, and will be followed by a number of topic-specific workshops in 2017. Particularly as our economy continues to flourish, it is vital that we take action to help support a robust housing marketplace.”
Affordable housing options might include, but are not limited to, mixed-use/mixed income neighborhoods, transit-oriented developments and various housing prototypes. Tools and strategies that will be discussed at the summit will help attendees identify areas most suitable for affordable housing, provide an overview of regulatory mechanisms and monetary incentives available, and summarize various affordable housing options that could be used to facilitate a diversity of housing choices for a growing population.
Keynote speaker will be Andrés Duany, partner at Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. Duany is an architect, urban designer, planner and author, and has dedicated over three decades to pioneering a vision for sustainable urban development and its implementation. He will discuss creative solutions for affordable units.
Orange County has allocated $5 million of local INVEST funds to be leveraged with other public and private resources to create new affordable units for low and very low income households.
In addition, Orange County received the largest allocation – $6.2 million – of State Housing Trust Funds since 2009 under the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP). These funds, coupled with INVEST funds, will create a strong leveraging platform upon which many affordable housing units can be constructed.
