Rents on 77 apartments based on resident income

BRADENTON — The historic Old Manatee neighborhood just east of downtown Bradenton is set to get a new residential community with both affordable and market-rate apartments.

The Housing Trust Group, one of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing, broke ground Monday on the $22 million development, dubbed the Addison.

The complex will sport 77 affordable apartments and 13 market-rate units, with monthly rents ranging from $328 to $1,400, depending on resident income. The State Road 64 location, 702 Sixth Ave. E., is an empty lot a block south of the Central Cafe.

“Bradenton, like many communities throughout Florida, is suffering from a shortage of affordable and workforce housing,” Housing Trust president and CEO Matthew Rieger said in a news release.

“We've been working closely with the mayor and City Council to develop a concept and plan that will provide residents with brand-new, safe and clean affordable and workforce housing, with amenities and services that will enhance the overall community.”

The Addison will create approximately 100 construction jobs and five new permanent jobs, the company said.

The complex will consist of a mid-rise building with 25 one-bedroom apartments; 53 two-bedroom apartments; and 12 three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 660 square feet to 1,065 square feet.

Nine units will be set aside for residents earning at or below 35 percent of the area median income; 68 will be for residents earning at or below 60 percent of that income; and the remaining 13 will be market-rate units.

Amenities will include a fitness center, club room, locker storage, resort-style pool, dog park, playground, media center and 600 square feet of retail space.

The Addison is being financed with a $15.5 million construction loan from Fifth Third Bank; approximately $14.57 million of 9 percent housing credit equity from Raymond James Tax Credit Funds; a $2 million State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL); a $37,500 Community Development Block Grant loan from the City of Bradenton which could be increased to $150,000 with the council's approval; and $5.125 million in long-term financing from SunTrust Bank.

The SAIL program provides low-interest loans on a competitive basis to affordable housing developers each year. The money often serves to bridge the gap between the development's primary financing and the total cost of the development.

Tax credits provide incentives for the use of private equity in the development of affordable housing aimed at low-income Americans. The federal Housing Credit program provides for-profit and nonprofit organizations with a dollar-for-dollar reduction in federal tax liability in exchange for the acquisition and rehabilitation or new construction of low- and very-low-income rental housing units. Eligible new construction receives a credit rate of 9 percent.

The $1.2 million purchase for the 3.5-acre plot closed May 18 and was brokered by Ben Bakker of MSC Commercial, a division of Michael Saunders & Co.

The Miami-based Housing Trust Group has seven other affordable housing communities in various stages of construction in Florida, including Hammock Ridge Phase II in Spring Hill; Arbor View in Margate; Heron Estates in Riviera Beach; Douglas Gardens V in Pembroke Pines; Princeton Park in Miami; Freedom Gardens Phase II in Brooksville; and Twin Lakes Estates in Lakeland.