Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) has opened its highly competitive Request For Applications (RFA) 2016-109 State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) With Tax Exempt Bonds and 4% Housing Credit. Multiple developers are submitting applications to FHFC to develop the following proposed rental developments in Escambia County:
| DEVELOPMENT NAME |
LOCATION |
DEVELOPER |
# OF UNITS |
TYPE |
DISTRICT |
| Abbington Oaks |
625 E Olive Road |
REA Ventures Group |
128 |
Family |
3 |
| Delphin Downs |
1717 W Cervantes Street |
Southport Development, Inc. |
72 |
Family |
3 |
| Meadowbrook Commons |
5406 Lillian Highway |
Banyan Development Group LLC |
110 |
Family |
2 |
| Patricia Pointe |
9701 Chemstrand Road |
Royal American Development, Inc |
106 |
Family |
5 |
| The Place at P Street |
1201 North P Street |
Southport Development |
88 |
Family |
3 |
An alphabetical summary of each development with property appraiser information, development details, site plan, and elevation is attached. Abbington Oaks is included as Exhibit I, Delphin Downs is Exhibit II, Meadowbrook Commons is Exhibit III, Patricia Pointe is Exhibit IV, and The Place at P Street is Exhibit V.
A community discussion will be held on Monday, October 17 to hear input from the public on the Abbington Oaks, Delphin Downs, Patricia Pointe, and The Place @ P Street projects, and another community meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 18 to hear input from the public on the Meadowbrook Commons project.
As a part of the tax credit application process, developers must secure a “Local Government Certification of Contribution Form” (Exhibit VI) from each local government which secures a minimum contribution of $37,500 in order to receive maximum points during the scoring process. Though the Board is authorizing the County Administrator to sign the form committing $37,500 for each proposed development, there is no guarantee of any of the developments being selected for financing in Escambia County since the FHFC application processes utilizes a lottery system to determine awards. Given the amount of funding available from FHFC, it is anticipated that only one or two projects from a medium sized county will be selected statewide. The applications are due to FHFC by October 20, 2016 and selection should be known by Spring 2017.
FHFC mandates income set asides (at least 20% of the units must be set aside for households earning 50% or less of the area median income OR at least 40% of the units must be set aside for households earning 60% or less of the area median income), concrete construction, green and energy saving features, at least three resident program offerings (After School Programs, Literacy Training, Employment Assistance, or Family Support Coordinator for Family Developments), and proximity to transit and community services. Each development has had to secure a verification of the presence of infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, electricity) for each site as well as a verification that the property is zoned for the proposed use. Additionally each development must set aside a portion of the Extremely Low Income (ELI) units for persons with a disabling condition. A copy of the complete RFA and related documents is available online at http://www.floridahousing.org/Developers/MultiFamilyPrograms/Competitive/2016-109/ .
Each development will undergo a rigorous underwriting process through FHFC. None of the developers are on the FHFC's non-compliance list for projects that have received funding from FHFC in the past. Two of the developments, Abbington Oaks and Delphin Downs, have also applied for local bond financing through the Escambia County Housing Finance Authority, which secured a third party review of those developments (Exhibit VII). These developments are monitored regularly by FHFC for physical condition as well as the tenants served. Developments not providing the amenities or serving the income set asides would jeopardize their tax credit standing. |