Developers have broken ground on a $35 million affordable housing community for families in Cape Coral, Florida.
Civitas of Cape Coral will bring 96 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units to a region that was ground zero for catastrophic damages when it was hit by Hurricane Ian last year.
Targeting households earning 30%, 60%, and 80% of the area median income (AMI), the project is being developed by a partnership of ReVital Development Group, Birdsong Housing Partners, and the Lee County Housing Authority (LCHA). LCHA acquired the land and then entered into a 99-year ground lease with the partnership to ensure affordability is maintained in perpetuity.
Civitas will be Cape Coral’s first affordable family housing development in more than 20 years and the first community with dedicated workforce housing units at 80% of the AMI, according to the team.
“This is the definition of smart growth,” said ReVital Development president Michael Allan, noting that an array of local, state, and federal resources as well as private debt are being utilized.
The financing includes $10 million in Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery funding from Florida Housing Finance Corp., $14 million in 4% low-income housing tax credit equity provided by Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments, $2 million from Lee County, $1 million from the city of Cape Coral, a $17 million construction loan provided by Fifth Third Bank, and $5.6 million in permanent financing provided by Citi Community Capital.
Knowing it was going to take a village for the vision of this project to become a reality, the development was named “Civitas,” which translates to “community” in Latin.
Amenities at the new development will include a swimming pool, a large clubhouse with a community business center, a fitness center, and on-site property management and maintenance. Units will be equipped with Energy Star-rated appliances and granite countertops, and each will have a separate outdoor patio or balcony area. Residents also will have access to free on-site programs, including financial literacy, employment assistance training, and other community events and activities. Upon completion, the property, designed by PDS Architecture and Boral Engineering with NDC Construction as the general contractor, will meet the National Green Building Standard.
“It’s been a long road with this project, with both the construction environment and the lending environment, it’s taken a lot, and we’ve been fortunate in that we’ve gotten a lot of resources from the state and a lot of support and resources from both the city and the county, without which this would not have happened,” said Birdsong Housing Partners CEO Steve Auger. “It’s a tremendous testament to their efforts,” Auger said. “They contributed millions. It still didn’t fill the gap that we needed, but it was enough that allowed us to find additional resources and get the project done.”