Housing Trust Group (HTG), one of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing, has closed on financing and started construction on a new $21 million affordable housing community in Tallahassee, Fla.
Lafayette Gardens will deliver 96 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $315 to $930 per month. The apartments are scheduled to be completed in June 2021. The development is HTG’s first affordable development in the capital city of Florida.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened the income divide in this country and placed extraordinary stress on state and federal government budgets for affordable and public housing,” said Matthew A. Rieger, president and CEO of Miami-based HTG. “Tallahassee, like many cities in Florida, has an overwhelming pent-up demand for affordable housing so we’re pleased that we can deliver 96 new high-quality apartments to residents within the next year.”
Funding sources for Lafayette Gardens include an initial $15 million construction loan by Chase, $16.1 million in 9% low-income housing tax credit equity provided by Raymond James Tax Credit Funds, and a $4.8 million permanent loan through Freddie Mac and Walker & Dunlop.
Lafayette Gardens is located on a 5.76-acre site in the Woodland Drives section of Tallahassee, approximately 1.5 miles from the downtown. The site is located next to The Moon, a 35-year-old event and performance space, within a half mile of a Winn-Dixie grocery store, Myers Park, several schools, and within a few minutes of several other stores and businesses.
“Representatives of the Indianhead, Myers Park, and Woodland Drives neighborhoods, along with Lafayette Street business owners, met with developer HTG last summer to discuss the finer points of the project and how it would affect our area,” said Mary Frederick, president of the Woodland Drives Neighborhood Association, in a statement. “Based on that feedback, HTG went back to the drawing board numerous times to ensure this development could be the best it could be, including saving several trees, hiring a local landscape firm, and including a 10-foot multiuse bike/walking trail to encourage multimodal transportation and create a safe walkway for kids going to school. With this apartment development so close to stores and restaurants, we hope it will further solidify the reliance of nonvehicular transportation and its residents can help support nearby businesses. It will also help tremendously regarding Tallahassee’s dire needs for affordable housing for workers.”
The new development will consist of four three-story buildings with apartments ranging from 709 square feet (one bedroom) to 1,159 square feet (three bedroom) and will be reserved for income-qualifying residents who make at or below 33% or 60% of the area median income. Community amenities include a clubhouse, a pool, a playground, a media center, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a bike/walk trail. Residents will also have access to employment assistance, financial management, and literacy services on-site.
The project team for Lafayette Gardens includes general contractor Hennessy Construction Services; architect Fugleberg Koch; engineering firm Inovia Group; interior designer Stiles Interiors; and landscape architect Wood + Partners. Both Inovia and Wood + Partners are Tallahassee-based firms.
HTG is an award-winning full-service developer of multifamily residential communities. It develops, builds, and manages a diverse portfolio of affordable, workforce, market-rate housing, and mixed-use developments.
