MIAMI—There's still a dearth of affordable housing in South Florida. And it seems there are just as many challenges to taking a private-public partnership approach to development.

GlobeSt.com caught up with attorney Keith Poliakoff, who co-chairs Arnstein & Lehr's Government Relations Practice Group in Fort Lauderdale, to get some thoughts on what those challenges are and how to create opportunities in the face of obstacles. You can still read part one of this interview: Creating CRE Opportunities Where They Don't Exist.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the most common challenges affordable housing developers face when trying to take the PPP route? 

Poliakoff: Unfortunately, the development of affordable housing still has an improper stigma from years ago when people saw affordable developments as slums or Section 8 Housing. Today, it is virtually impossible to distinguish a good affordable development from a market rate. 

The biggest challenge is still getting the public at large to see for themselves how wonderful the product really is. Once they see it, we almost always gain their support. As it relates to senior affordable housing, this product is so crucial today as a result of the tremendous increase in seniors on fixed incomes. 

GlobeSt.com: To be able to create opportunities, what kind of expertise you need to have?

Poliakoff: A governmental entity will always want to see the experience and financial backing of the development team.  As such, it is necessary to be able to prove to the governmental entity that you have the experience, expertise, and financial wherewithal, to be able to pull of the deal.