Collier County commissioners approved the first developer to use county infrastructure surtax dollars for an affordable housing project. The board unanimously voted in favor of up to $3.75 million in financing for Miami-based McDowell Housing Partners’ fourth planned project for the county, Ekos on Collier.
In 2018, voters approved a surtax to fund capital improvement projects, including workforce housing, which received $20 million from the 1-cent tax. So far, the county has received five different applications from various developers totaling $26 million.
McDowell was approved for funding by the Affordable Housing Advisory Board in November and the Infrastructure Surtax Citizens Advisory Committee in January.
The project will span more than 7 acres on Collier Boulevard, just south of the Collier and U.S. 41 intersection. The land is currently zoned for commercial and mobile home, making it a project that qualifies under the Live Local Act, meaning it won’t be subject to public hearings for approval.
Housing Policy & Economic Development Division Director Cormac Giblin said county staff cannot recommend approval of the project because the adjacent Henderson Creek makes the area a coastal high-hazard area. The coastal management section of the county’s comprehensive plan restricts the county from using public expenditures for development in these areas.
“You have competing elements in your growth management plan. You have a coastal conservation element, and you have a housing element. The coastal conservation element cautions against using public funding in the coastal high-hazard area, and the housing element recommends spending funding to further housing affordability throughout the county,” Giblin said.
Under the developer contract with the county, the county would maintain ownership of the land while McDowell enters a 99-year land lease with the county and keeps the units affordable in perpetuity. This is similar to McDowell’s other project, Ekos on Santa Barbara, and the Golden Gate Golf Course housing development.
W. Patrick McDowell, founder of McDowell Housing Partners, spoke to the commissioners about his passion for providing affordable housing and how that aligns with his company’s mission. Since its founding in 2019, McDowell has successfully completed three properties with eight more under construction. Parent company McDowell Properties started in 2004 and has purchased about 170 communities to renovate and transform into workforce housing.
“When you take a look at the communities we build, they don’t look affordable,” McDowell said. “You go to Ekos on Santa Barbara, and you drive by, it looks like a Class-A market rate property, and that’s the kind of asset we’re building. We want to build communities that our tenants have pride in ownership and pride in living there and pride to bring their friends to enjoy the common areas over the weekend.”
McDowell Housing Partners Chief Operating Officer Christopher Shear said the housing development will provide more than just living spaces. They plan to provide services aimed toward seniors with a dedicated space for the county’s Senior Citizens Nutrition & Activity Program to be able to cook and provide daily meal services at the property. Additionally, they plan to partner with Healthcare Network to have a practitioner on-site regularly at a dedicated exam room.
“We’re looking forward to being able to service not only our residents with housing but with health and wellness, as well,” Shear said.
Shear said 40% of the units will be capped at 80% of the county’s area median income, with units ranging down to 30% of the AMI.
Commissioner Rick LoCastro asked Shear what happens when a tenant starts making above the income restriction. Shear said because of the Fair Housing Act, the tenant cannot be displaced, further proving the need for more workforce housing in the county.
Commissioner Chris Hall asked for the developer to commit to a timeline within the developer agreement to ensure the project is finished in a timely manner. Ekos on Santa Barbara first came in front of the board in summer 2019 and had their ribbon-cutting this month. The application lists Ekos on Collier to take five years to complete.
“That didn’t really make me warm and fuzzy, because this is a need that we have sooner than later,” Hall said.
Shear said he is open to putting terms in the agreement to have shovels in the ground by a certain point to ensure a timely completion date.
“We fully expect this to be much quicker than the last number of projects,” McDowell said.
The next step will be for staff to create the property contract and developer agreement, which will include further specifics on the number of affordable units, before construction can begin.
