As affordable housing continues to be one of the most complex challenges facing cities today, the City of Orlando is committed to ensuring that every person, regardless of economic status, has access to quality housing that is safe and affordable and has been working to develop short and long-term strategies to expand the city's housing inventory for residents at all income levels.
To accomplish this goal, the City of Orlando has and continues to make significant investments and forge new partnerships to develop and rehab quality housing units for our residents.
In the last five years, the city has invested or committed more than $40 million to create or preserve housing options for residents at all income levels. This includes the construction or rehabilitation of more than 1,600 multifamily units and the construction of more than 150 new residences (single family residences and duplexes) that provide homeownership opportunities for residents interested in pursuing the American dream of homeownership.
One significant example of our strategy was in 2015 when the city invested nearly $7 million to purchase seven vacant, foreclosed, uninhabitable properties in the greater Washington Shores and Mercy Drive areas, with a goal to transform these sites into safe, attractive and affordable housing for our residents.
Along with private and non-profit partners, one-by-one we have turned each blighted site into a vibrant new community that any resident would be proud to call home.
These new developments include
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Village on Mercy, a $28 million 166-unit affordable apartment community developed by Ability Housing
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Pendana at West Lakes, a $40 million 200-unit mixed-income multifamily community
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Pendana at West Lakes Senior Residences, a $23.5 million development with 120-unit affordable apartment homes designated for our seniors.
Both Pendana communities were developed by LIFT Orlando.
In November 2020, the city joined Blue Sky Communities, LLC and CASL to celebrate the groundbreaking of the 116-unit Fairlawn Village and the last of the parcels to be redeveloped from the 2015 purchase.
Together, through the power of partnership, we turned those seven blighted properties into beautiful new, affordable homes for more than 600 families some of whom may have experienced homelessness, been survivors of domestic violence or people with a disability.
The city’s original investment in the purchase of those properties has yielded more than $115 million in private investment or a return of nearly $16 for each dollar invested by the city.
The city remains committed to advancing our goals to ensure every person who lives In Orlando feels equally valued and has equal access to opportunity and this includes having equal access to safe, high quality housing they can afford. Looking forward, in the fiscal year ahead, the city has committed $22 million toward short and long-term affordable housing and this includes leveraging more than $14 million in federal and state funds to advance our housing goals.