MIAMI—Related Urban just took the lid off plans to rehab four Miami-Dade public housing developments. Related will tap into state financing awarded through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) to get the job done.
Related Urban received more than $60 million in tax credits for these projects, the largest-ever public housing funding issued to Miami-Dade County. The four sites up for rehab, Dante Fascell, Joe Moretti, Stirrup Plaza and South Miami Plaza, serve extremely low-income seniors.
“These awards from the FHFC represent the most significant investment in public housing redevelopment since 1999 when the County received $35 million in HOPE VI funding to redevelop the former Scott-Carver development,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said in a statement. “This funding provides an incredible opportunity to upgrade our properties and incorporate creative and sustainable design solutions that will immeasurably improve the quality of life for our public housing residents.”
The need is great. More than 54,000 people are on a waiting list for public housing in Miami-Dade County, according to Related Urban’s research. Indeed, Miami-Dade County has been in desperate need for public housing funding, with over $150 million in deferred capital improvements needed to upgrade 9,200 units.
“The capital improvement needs have outpaced the annual HUD funding received by Public Housing Authorities for several decades,” Alberto Milo, Jr., principal and senior vice president of Related Urban, tells GlobeSt.com. “This creates a tremendous opportunity for Related Urban to partner with Public Housing Authorities to address their unmet capital improvement needs and preserve public housing units which serve the most vulnerable citizens.”
The redevelopments will implement renovations and improvements that will modernize 464 units in the community. Improvements and renovations will be done on housing stock built from the 1940s to 1970s, which are in dire need of capital repair.
With the US Department of Housing and Urban Development only providing $10 million per year to the County, Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD) has sought out private developers to join in the redevelopment efforts. Related Urban is diving in deep.
The projects are intended to be completed by December 2013. Along with the four projects announced, Milo says Related Urban has plans for the redevelopment of an additional 1,800 elderly public housing units, responding to the evident demands of the market.
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