Affordable rental housing gets a boost from Florida Community Loan Fund
By Margie Manning
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 24, 2014

As many as 900 apartment units throughout Florida could remain available to low-income residents, as part of a funding plan by the Florida Community Loan Fund. The loan fund will expand its Multifamily Preservation program, which seeks to preserve existing rental housing and keep it affordable into the future, said Ignacio Esteban, CEO of FCLF.

"There's a significant number of low-income Floridians who are significantly cost hampered when it comes to finding affordable places to live,” Esteban said. "Part of what we are trying to do is make sure the existing stock available in Florida remains.”

The 2013 Rental Market Study by University of Florida's Shimberg Center for Housing Studies found that low-income renters in Florida pay more than 40 percent of their total household income for housing and are considered "cost burdened.” About 51 percent of the cost-burdened renter households are in Hillsborough, Pinellas and five other large counties.

Existing low-income housing is at risk of being converted to market-rate rentals, or being lost to foreclosure as owners struggle to keep up with maintenance and debt service, a statement from FCLF said. "There are some projects that are a much better fit for market rate,” Esteban said. "We are not looking to finance all projects and ultimately the market will decide that. All we're trying to do is provide the capital tools to ensure that if a project can remain affordable, it will.”

It costs more to build new affordable housing than it does to maintain existing stock, Esteban said.

FCLF, a Community Development Financial Institution, has had a pilot program to preserve affordable housing in three counties, including Pasco. Now, the organization is using a $4 million Wells Fargo NEXT Opportunity Award announced last week to provide financing to developers and property owners to buy, rehab and keep multifamily rental properties affordable. FCLF plans to "catalyze” the initial $4 million award into $25 million for multifamily preservation, Esteban said.

He expects to get additional investments in the fund from financial institutions, religious organizations, trade associations and foundations.

Margie Manning is Quality and Content Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal. She also covers banking, finance and professional services.