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Resolving Southwest Florida’s aff ordable housing woes

In early March, the Florida House passed a bill designed to help local governments and developers create more aff ordable housing opportunities. SB 962, Residential Development Projects for Aff ordable Housing has now passed both the Senate and the House with unanimous bipartisan support and appears on track for the Governor’s signature.

The bill would allow local governments to approve residential and mixed-use developments on any parcel of land zoned for commercial or industrial use, as long as at least 10% of the project’s units are reserved for affordable housing. The bill is seen as a potential booster shot to cure the state’s defi ciency of workforce housing. While this is admirable, it should not be our only action to resolve the aff ordable housing crisis in our area.

Aff ordable housing in Florida

For those seeking aff ordable housing options, Florida is one of the most challenging states in the nation. A 2021 report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition notes while no state has an adequate supply of aff ordable housing, the Sunshine State is in the nation’s bottom fi ve with a defi cit of more than half a million affordable and available rental units for households earning 50% of the area’s median income.

Increases in the cost of housing far outpaced wage growth in Florida. A 2021 study by QuoteWizard notes while wages statewide grown nearly 21% over 10 years, median home prices jumped 99.3% during the same period.

Potential solutions to a crisis

There are three potential answers to the aff ordable housing problem. However only one is a truly realistic scenario.

The possible solutions are to: • Increase wages • Decrease the cost of housing • Increase housing supply We’re seeing progress statewide in income growth, although not at the level we would need to catch up to our current home prices and rental rates. We also expect to see some sort of correction in our housing market in the future, but it’s doubtful home prices will fall signifi cantly. Instead, we expect to see home and rental costs simply stabilize. BY GARY TASMAN The biggest impact we can have on resolving our aff ordable housGuest Columnist ing woes would be to increase the amount of housing stock in our communities, and to do it more quickly than demand is growing.

Increasing supply through density

With the exception of our region’s coastal areas, Southwest Florida is a haven for single-family homes and gated communities. While that makes for a pleasant suburban feel, it also increases urban sprawl, making it more expensive to live here. Sprawl means municipalities must pay more to police, fi re, ambulances, public transportation and sanitation services, which in turn raises local taxes. Residents in sprawling areas endure longer commutes and use more gasoline, further raising the cost of living.

The most logical solution to ease the burden of urban sprawl is to increase density— the number of housing units allowed per acre of land. By concentrating density in areas with adequate infrastructure, we can reduce the cost of providing municipal services, thus keeping our costs of living lower. Higher density also provides the opportunity for more housing diversity, like apartment units ranging from one-room studios to four-bedroom penthouses, as well as condominiums, duplexes and other multifamily options.

Concentrated development in Southwest Florida

Here in Southwest Florida, we already see examples of municipalities strategically concentrating development. Fort Myers’ Midtown neighborhood represents one example. Infrastructure improvements will accompany the development of this area, which will include high-density housing within walking distance of the desirable River District. Charlotte County employs a strategy called Transfer Development Units, which identifi es appropriate locations for higher-density development, as well as areas where density should be reduced. The goal of the TDU program is to encourage the removal of outdated platted subdivisions and lots and support sustainable, higher-density mixed-use development. In Collier County, the East Naples development plan hopes to spark more walkable neighborhoods and mixed-use communities with workforce housing opportunities.

While Florida’s SB 962 should be celebrated as a victory for aff ordable housing advocates, local governments have tried to incentivize developers to hold back units for aff ordable housing for decades—with minimal success. Instead of encouraging builders to create more aff ordable units, they often discourage developers from pursuing projects at all. However, government incentives, paired with smart growth and higher density developments, may off er the key to solving our local aff ordable housing troubles. Gary Tasman is the founder of Cushman & Wakefi eld Commercial Property Southwest Florida and serves as CEO/Principal broker. Contact him at (239) 489-3600.

LandQwest sells commercial offi ce building

Meadowcreek Investments purchased the 65,252-square-foot offi ce building at 2675 Winkler Ave. in Fort Myers for $8.9 million.

This is the second time the “Southwest Professional Building” sold since January 2021. Since then, it has risen in value by nearly 31%.

The building was 100% occupied at the time of the February 2022 sale and hosted tenants such as Millennium Physician Group, US Renal Care, Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida and GHD.

Adam Palmer represented the seller, DKM Property Holdings, and Jim Doane and George Vukobratovich represented the buyer in this transaction.

More closed leases

Freedom Venture Management purchased 4.34 acres on Northeast 10th Place in Cape Coral from Summit 69 Ave for $3.05 million. Bob O’Connor of LandQwest Commercial represented the seller in the transaction. 1875 Holdings purchased 7.39 acres on Commercial Drive in Fort Myers from Yowell Real Estate and Jurgensen Real Estate for $1,995,000. Michael Price, ALC of LandQwest Commercial represented the buyer in the transaction.

Newly closed sale

Thesen Asian Bistro leased 2,978 square feet of retail space in ‘Restaurant Row’ on Collier Boulevard in Naples from Advanced Southwest Group. Mike Concilla and Laura Cari of LandQwest Commercial were the transaction agents.

Jersey Mike’s leased 1,600 square feet of retail space in Pine Island Crossing on Northeast Pine Island Road in Cape Coral from Pine Island Crossing. Bob Pekol of LandQwest Commercial was the transaction agent.

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