HOLLYWOOD, FL-A $28-million Crystal Lake public housing development breaks ground at 3100 N. 24th Ave. In a public-private partnership with the Broward County Housing Authority, Miami-based Pinnacle Housing Group demolished the 22-building, 190-unit project at that address, which was built in the 1970s, and will replace it with eight three-story buildings containing 190 units.

The gated community will also contain a clubhouse, computer lab, pool and exercise room and a community facility for Liberia Economic and Social Development Inc. The land also allows for construction of six single-family homes to be constructed by BCHA.

The lion's share of the project's funding is a $17.4-million housing tax credit investment from Florida Housing Finance Corp., which was raised from Baltimore-based MMA Financial, a MuniMae company. This combines with more than $9 million in private debt from Citibank and two no-interest loans. The loans include $621,000 from Broward County and $500,000 from the City of Hollywood.

The units will be available to residents earning 60% or less than the county's median income, which is currently $36,120 a year for a family of four. Rents are projected to range from $641 a month for a one-bedroom unit to $976 a month for a four-bedroom townhouse-style unit. A selection of units will rent for between $302 and $452 a month for very low-income households.

Pinnacle was selected in competitive bidding and will design, construct and manage the complex. "Modern and attractive affordable housing will help transform an older community that has suffered from lack of investment," says Michael Wohl, a Pinnacle partner.

Noting that the venture has no federal public housing subsidy, BCHA chairman Joseph Cobo says the partnership serves as a national model of how local governments, housing authorities and private developers can find solutions to housing crises.