SANFORD, Fla. – As WKMG Hits the Road to the 32771 ZIP code in Sanford, viewers wanted to know whether more affordable housing units are being built in the growing city.
Sanford, like much of Central Florida, has a critical deficit of affordable housing, but News 6 learned new units are starting to come online, and more are on the way.
News 6 caught up with Shirlene Kennon as she was moving into her new unit at Monroe Landings, a brand-new affordable housing development in the historic Goldsboro community.
“I’m walking into newness,” she said. “The bedrooms are a nice size. I have my walk-in closet. I love that. What woman doesn’t? The washer/dryer unit is large enough. It’s spacious. I’m going to love it.”
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The complex, built and managed by Wendover Housing Partners, has a total of 144 units that are dedicated to low-income renters, which is someone who makes 60% of the area’s median income. It also features two playgrounds, a pool and other amenities.
Wendover Housing Partners has plans to build another 144 units on vacant land next to Monroe Landings.
News 6 also met Debbie Padget as she was getting ready to move into her two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit at the complex for $500 per month.
“It’s been a journey,” she said. “I’m just real grateful, just real thankful.”
Monroe Landings is a major upgrade from the former affordable housing community that once occupied the site.
Lake Monroe Terrace was there for decades until it was deemed uninhabitable by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was demolished in 2013 along with some other affordable housing sites that fell into disrepair.
Kennan never lived in Lake Monroe Terrace but remembers growing up in other affordable housing communities nearby.
“We didn’t have apartments, we had row houses,” she recalled. “The area has been beautified by this.”
The development of new affordable housing communities has evolved over the years into a collaborative effort between the private sector and local governments.
Wendover Housing Partners COO Ryan von Weller told News 6 developers simply can’t build something with traditional debt and equity and keep the rents low, so they rely on taxpayer funding for it to become affordable.
“We’ve got five or six developments in the city of Sanford,” he said. “I think initially, they were hesitant because we didn’t know them very well, but after our first project got permitted, we’ve just seen a night and day difference in their willingness to help us get across the hurdles. They’ve been tremendous.”
Not only are these public-private partnerships adding to the supply, but they’re also adding to the quality of the units.
“When the private sector got engaged in this and tax credits became available in the 1990s, what you’re seeing is, well, we own this,” von Weller said. “We have a vested interest in keeping this nice, keeping it pristine, and doing everything we can to keep a nice-looking product.
But given the severe shortage of affordable housing in the Central Florida area, it can be challenging for someone to secure one of these units.
“We’ll be filled up here in the next 30 days, 100%,” von Weller said. “Our staff takes a look at all the income that’s coming in — job, fixed income, whatever it may be — and it has to be underneath that threshold or they don’t qualify to live here. That’s the government’s checkpoint to make sure these units are going toward the income demographic that’s targeted.”
Monroe Landings is the first large-scale development to be built in the Goldsboro neighborhood. Founded in 1891, Goldsboro is one of the oldest African American founded communities in the United States.
“The entire objective is to give people a hand up, not a handout,” von Weller said. “We can’t cater to everybody, but certainly, we’re trying to work with every demographic that comes our way to make sure they can have the best chance at success they can.”
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