ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida’s significant growth has come with a cost, and it’s hitting low-income families who rely on affordable housing the hardest.
There’s a critical shortage of available units in Orlando, and according to a new report, the U.S. is at risk of losing nearly 200,000 rentals for cost-burdened families over the next five years.
Ryan von Weller with Wendover Housing Partners — a group behind many of the local affordable housing projects — joined anchor Justin Warmoth on “The Weekly” to help us better understand just how dire the crisis has become.
“I’m very concerned (about the future),” von Weller said. “We all should be. We’re constantly trying to resolve an issue that’s being exacerbated by a loss of inventory and not building enough for fill the need.”
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Wendover is also behind Catchlight Crossings, a new affordable housing community that’ll be built on Universal Orlando property. Construction on phase one of the project is expected to get underway in the next few weeks.
“We hope to have units online, in conjunction with Epic Universe, in 2025,” von Weller said. “They’re not reserved for Universal employees, but that corridor already has close to 100,00 workers coming in daily. Epic Universe is going to add another 14-to-15,000, so the need down there is going to be greater than it is right now. It’s certainly going to be a project that’s well-timed and well-received.”
Watch the full interview in the video player above.
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