Lee County Commissioners authorize funding commitment for North Fort Myers affordable housing
The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to authorize a funding commitment of a $500,000 zero-interest loan from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in support of an application with the Florida Housing Finance Corp., for a 72-unit multi-family affordable housing complex on U.S. 41 in North Fort Myers.
The loan, with a five-year term, is in support of the application by River North Properties Inc. − as a member of Hermosa NFTM 41, LLC − for Housing Credit Financing for Affordable Housing Developments Located in Medium and Small Counties for a project known as Hermosa North Fort Myers.
The funding will be used for construction of 72 multi-family units at 16301 N. Cleveland Ave., if the project is awarded Florida Housing Finance Corporation tax credits. All 72 units would be for rental by elderly households with extremely low (at or below 33% of the area median income) or low (at or below 60% of the area median income) incomes for a compliance period of 99 years.
If Hermosa’s project is not awarded funding by Florida Housing, Lee County’s commitment will become void.
In June 2021, the Lee Board of County Commissioners established an affordable housing program to provide Local Government Areas of Opportunity Funding to developers seeking Florida Housing Finance Corp. financing for Affordable Housing.
The Hermosa project was selected through a competitive solicitation process. The anticipated construction cost is more than $21 million dollars with construction commencing in mid-2024. Lee County’s $500,000 loan would be less than 2.4% of the total construction financing.
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