Hundreds of affordable housing units are coming to South Florida, thanks to one development firm.
Its first market? Broward cities Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach.
The Brickell-based development firm Continental Development Housing will complete 80 affordable housing units, a mix of single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses by late 2020 in the northwest section of Fort Lauderdale called Sistrunk. It will also start construction in the New Year on another 80 affordable housing apartment units in Dania Beach expected to be completed by 2021.
It's part of a larger plan for CDH to bring a total of 500 affordable housing units to South Florida by 2024.
"What I see in Sistrunk is the next Wynwood," Juan Carlos Jurado, a developer and co-founder of Brickell-based Continental Development Holding, said. "We don't want what happened to Wynwood to happen here. We want people whose families have lived here for two, three generations to be able to live here if they want to."
CDH will build affordable housing throughout Sistrunk with its single parcels throughout the neighborhood. It will reserve its townhouses in the one contiguous slice of land it purchased. The development is located north of Broward Boulevard, south of Sunrise, west of S. Andrews Avenue and east of Northwest 31st Ave.
Thus far, CDH completed five single-family homes in the historically black neighborhood. One was on the market for a day after receiving its certificate of occupancy before being leased. The remaining four single-family homes are expected to receive certificates of occupancy by January.
The firm will complete an extra 80 affordable housing units, 20% will be single-family homes, 30% to 40% will be duplexes and 40% to 50% will be townhouses. A duplex spans 1,400 square feet, townhouses 1,500 square feet and single-family homes 1,600 square feet. The most expensive unit, a single-family home with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, is rented at $1,995.
The units are priced below the affordable housing cap for Broward's median income of $68,600, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The rent limit for a three-bedroom would be $2,628.
CDH will provide affordable housing throughout South Florida, Jurado said. "We are actively looking for land in Miami-Dade, but our goal is to build in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach."
Sistrunk, in particular, piqued Jurado's interest after he worked with the county to update the sewer system and roadways.
"A lot of government dollars are being invested in the area," Jurado said.
Named after Dr. James Sistrunk, one of the founder's of the first hospital for blacks in the area during the 1930's, the neighborhood has seen an uptick in redevelopment. A 40,000-square-foot mixed-use facility opened in 2018 to house a food hall, brewery, event space and work spaces.
