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Proposed Creekside Village project could add more Bradenton-area affordable housing
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Creekside Village, planned for 198 multifamily residential units with at least 25% of those designated as affordable housing, is set to come before the Manatee County Planning Commission on Thursday.
The complex, planned for a 24-acre site on the north and south sides of 58th Avenue East, about 400 feet east of 33rd Street East, is the latest project proposed in response to the Bradenton-area housing crisis.
In Southwest Florida there are 13 prospective renters for every vacant apartment, and units stay vacant for an average of only 34 days. For anyone looking to buy a house, prices remain near historic highs, a daunting challenge for first-time home buyers.
The property is just to the east of Community of Christ Church, 5817 33rd St. E., Bradenton.
Residents in the neighboring Garden Lakes community have raised a number of concerns about the Creekside Village project, including losing privacy and the wooded area behind their homes, increased flooding, noise, traffic and threats to endangered species, including gopher tortoises.
Other projects in the works:
— Bradenton Project LLC of Summerville, S.C., plan to build a 96-unit apartment complex at 2008 53rd Ave. E. in Oneco. The project, which would include four buildings with 24 units each, received affordable/workforce housing eligibility on June 23.
— A 606-unit affordable housing apartment complex, named Amara, is proposed for a 20-acre parcel at 3308 Lena Road. Seeking approvals is WB Property Group, an owner-developer of real estate headquartered in New York City.
— A total of 572 units of multi-family affordable housing are planned for 4505 12th St. Ct. E., including 301 Flats with 324 units of family housing and The Savoy at 301 with 248 units of senior housing. The developer is Oneco 51 Family Gp LLC of Santa Monica, Calif.
— Whitfield Estates LLC is seeking to build 192 one- and two-bedroom units on 10 acres in the 7200 block of 12th Street East.
— The Nine20 Manatee apartments, planned for 137 units, with rents ranging from about $1,300 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,600 for a two-bedroom unit, are under construction at 920 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
— The three-story Oneco Living Apartments is planned for 94 rental units on 5.3 acres of vacant land just north of State Road 70. The majority of the units will be rented at market rate, but 24 of those apartments in the 5100 block of 18th Street Court East will be designated affordable housing.
— Hope Village, dedicated to keeping at-risk parents housed and on the path to economic independence, is planned by Help to Home, a local nonprofit organization and homeless resource group. Envisioned are at least 53 apartment units on 4.8 acres at 1825 30th Ave. W. in Bradenton.
— Housing Trust Group plans to build a five-story, 120-unit complex for seniors on the northwest corner of Ninth Street West and 23rd Avenue West in Bradenton.
— The Met, a $31 million workforce housing project, will include 199 units of eco-friendly apartments on a three-acre site at 1405 14th St., Bradenton.
— A workforce housing community of about 400 units is being pursued by a partnership of local businesses, One Stop Housing and the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. A location and timeline have not been announced.
Completed projects:
— Housing Trust Group has opened the 90-unit Addison apartments, 702 Sixth Ave. E., Bradenton, and the 96-unit Oaks at Lakeside complex, 5260 34th Street Cir. E., Bradenton.
— Riverview6, an 80-unit affordable housing complex near downtown Bradenton, is also in the works and set to open in early 2024.
— The Sandpiper Place Apartments, 4605 26th St. W., Bradenton, opened Feb. 15, 2022, with all 92 units rented, and a waiting list of more than 800 people.
Organizations along the Suncoast are teaming up to help people in need get the necessary help when it comes to finding a house they can afford.
“It’s definitely difficult to find something in Sarasota. Even if you go to Newtown, which people would consider the lower-class part in some areas, it’s still very hard to afford living,” says Aariyona, who has lived in Sarasota her whole life.
She was able to find a place relatively easy, but is worried about some vulnerable people being displaced as the cost of living has become too much for some to handle.
“The elderly residents are getting pushed out because they can’t keep up anymore,” says Aariyona.
The president of the Sarasota Housing Authority William Russell says Section 8 vouchers, which are given to people based on income levels, help cover a portion of rent for people in need.
“The demand for the vouchers far exceeds what we can provide for the community,” says Russell.
In order to qualify for these vouchers, the general threshold is earning 50% of less than the median income in the area, which according to the Sarasota Housing Authority website, would mean a single person making around $32,000 or less per year.
“Every time we open up the waitlist and take applications, we get thousands and thousands of applications. People desperately need it,” says Russell.
That’s where Bay First National Bank comes in, who has been working with the SHA to create a program that incentivizes landlords to invest in affordable housing.
“We’re trying to make more housing available by providing aggressive financing terms that is more flexible for each individual landlord,” says the bank’s market president Tom Quale.
A tiny home community for homeless veterans could be in the works in Manatee County, where local officials continue to balance a desire to address homelessness in the community with concern about potential adverse impacts.
Officials in Manatee County and the city have discussed concern about growing homelessness issues near downtown Bradenton — an area where they want to encourage more vertical development and investment — and have voiced intentions to consider an overnight camping ban.
Because the urban core is also where most nonprofits help the homeless community, officials worry those services draw additional homeless residents to the area.
"The plan is to provide housing for the homeless, period," Commissioner Jason Bearden told the Herald-Tribune. "There are a lot of areas where they are just sleeping, they are camping out on people's land or things like that. So our solution to that is maybe we need to create a bed for them, or somewhere they can go because honestly, that's the reason why they're sleeping in a field."
Bearden is spearheading a proposal to build a tiny home community on about 8 acres of available land behind a planned veteran's memorial park on a 24-acre county-owned property Buckeye Road, east of the former Piney Point fertilizer plant.
The property is located near employment hubs such as SeaPort Manatee, nearby distribution centers, and manufacturing and development project sites.
"It's not just about the housing," Bearden said. "You want to get these guys employed. You want to get these guys their benefits. There are a lot of veterans that struggle with that, so that's why we're going to make it that in Manatee County, we can take care of those veterans."
Bearden said he also intends to pitch a Transitional Assistance Program to help veterans transition out of homelessness.
For older residents in Sarasota feeling a dramatic drop in their quality of life, experts have a message: You are not alone.
In the five-county region of Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, a recent study shows that people over the age of 65 make up the fastest-growing age group of residents living on the economic edge.
Those findings stem from the latest ALICE Report, released earlier this year by United Way Suncoast and its research partner United For ALICE – which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.
As analysts continued to comb through the data, one development stood out: seniors increasingly are in trouble.
Between 2019 and 2021, the number of senior households in the five-county region that fell under the ALICE threshold – which includes both those living paycheck-to-paycheck and those living in poverty – rose from 213,000 to 245,000.
That’s a jump of nearly 15%, a jump that is also reflected statewide.
“It is an increase that stands apart from all other percentage changes and age groupings,” said Aaron Neal, senior manager of data analysis at United Way Suncoast.
Regional households led by residents 25 and younger, the vast majority of them fall under the ALICE threshold – but that hasn’t changed for most of the last decade, Neal noted.
While young people continue to be disadvantaged, older residents are increasingly so. And the consequences are dramatically different, Neal explained.
People under 25 are often assumed to be at the start of their earning potential, with room to climb above the ALICE threshold as they age and work their way up in their careers.
Seniors, on the other hand, have usually retired after maxing out their greatest earning years – now living on fixed incomes with few prospects for additional resources unless they go back to work.
“It’s stark,” he said of the trend for older residents, “and it’s a vulnerable population.”
Though the number of households under age 25 falling beneath the ALICE threshold nearly doubled in Sarasota County and rose 32% in Manatee County, that still comprises fewer than 4,000 households.
By comparison, more than 71,000 senior households in both counties now fall under the ALICE threshold.
A Sarasota addiction recovery center has closed its doors, as its location will be taken over by an investment group with a history of building residential high-rises.
The Gratitude Club has served the community for more than 18 years and has helped 78,000 people each year. Since 2005, the club has hosted 50 recovery meetings every week. It was a free space open every day, 16 hours each day, and it will be missed by those who seek its refuge. The club has started a GoFundMe for $20,000 to support the search for a new location.
“This is our home,” said Miki Meahan, a Gratitude Club volunteer. “And for our clients, this is really a life or death thing."
The club had been renting the office building on 530 Payne Parkway for 18 years. The property was bought – along with the surrounding plots of land – by the CPP Opa-Locka LLC in July for $7.5 million for a total of 1.98 acres. The LLC’s principal address was listed under PTM Partners, a development group based in Fort Lauderdale. The group has a history of constructing residential high-rises across the country.
The Herald-Tribune reached out to the investment group for a statement but has not received a response.
While the property had been for sale for the last seven years, clients and volunteers like Meahan were shocked by the news that they needed to vacate the property. The group has been looking for a new location for the last few months, but it’s been difficult to find something in their price range and with a large enough space. They have temporarily closed until they find a new location.
Both Meahan and Gratitude Club Director Chuck Merritt fear this property sale is another step toward Sarasota losing its character to monochromatic skyrises.
“The quaint charm of the city is being gentrified into something that's all building up, and for some people, that's amazing progress,” Meahan said. “The problem is that you have organizations like us being moved out that actually provide a need that is necessary for a city to function.”
The property's current zoning includes “single story buildings, small scale multi-family and townhomes,” according to zoning ordinances. City officials said they have not received any petitions to rezone the property yet.
In August, the City Commission unanimously changed the zoning code to provide density bonuses, allowing downtown zoning districts to quadruple so long as private developers set aside 15% of the bonus units for affordable housing.
The property is a walking distance from institutions that provide drug treatment, the Salvation Army, drug court, and the courthouse. It provided a space for people to donate clothes or food and socialize in a safe, sober space. There was also a bulletin board for job and housing postings.
The “For Sale” sign is a sign of the times at the Pines Trailer Park in Bradenton Beach.
Some owners are putting their homes up for sale after the ownership of the park, 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach, delivered notice May 8 of an offer from an unknown entity to purchase the park land.
The notice, prepared by attorney David A. Luczak, representing park owners, stated the Jackson Partnership was considering an offer outlining a purchase price of $16,250,000 for all park-owned land, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, equipment, materials, vehicles and buildings.
The notice said closing would come 45 days from the successful completion of due diligence, placing the closing sometime in mid- to late-June but residents say they haven’t received any updates on the pending sale and they’ve not heard from the owners as to whether their homes will be allowed to remain on the property after the transition.
This has left residents living in uncertainty in one of two mobile home parks in Bradenton Beach, the only such parks on AMI.
I suppose this is good news for those mobile home owners at Pines Trailer Park in Bradenton Beach. The new owner plans to keep the trailer park going along with new improvements. However the new owner refused to comment on raising lot rent/fees. So this could be a double edged sword.
One of Bradenton Beach’s last remaining trailer parks sells for $16.25 million
In a letter to Pines Trailer Park residents dated Sept. 12, Pines Park Investors LCC offered assurances that the trailer park would remain a trailer park.
“As you may be aware, we have recently acquired Pines Park, and we wanted to take this opportunity to assure you that we are committed to preserving and improving the park in hopes of ensuring its long-term success,” the letter said.
Pines Trailer Park and Sandpiper Mobile Resort, 2601 Gulf Drive N., also in Bradenton Beach, are the last remaining trailer parks on Anna Maria Island.
Last edited by wondermint2; 09-20-2023 at 10:13 AM..
The millions of people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help cover the cost of groceries and other necessities are about to get a bump in their benefits starting on Oct. 1.
SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, used to be called the Food Stamp Program. Next month, the benefits will automatically rise to reflect the recent changes in the cost of living due to high inflation.
Benefit changes will be based on the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for June 2022.
According to a report from Forbes Advisor, SNAP benefits will increase by 12.5% for 12 months starting in October, compared to the year prior.
Below you can see the breakdowns of new maximum benefit amounts in the 48 contiguous U.S. states and D.C., according to the USDA:
A Sarasota addiction recovery center has closed its doors, as its location will be taken over by an investment group with a history of building residential high-rises.
The Gratitude Club has served the community for more than 18 years and has helped 78,000 people each year. Since 2005, the club has hosted 50 recovery meetings every week. It was a free space open every day, 16 hours each day, and it will be missed by those who seek its refuge. The club has started a GoFundMe for $20,000 to support the search for a new location.
“This is our home,” said Miki Meahan, a Gratitude Club volunteer. “And for our clients, this is really a life or death thing."
The club had been renting the office building on 530 Payne Parkway for 18 years. The property was bought – along with the surrounding plots of land – by the CPP Opa-Locka LLC in July for $7.5 million for a total of 1.98 acres. The LLC’s principal address was listed under PTM Partners, a development group based in Fort Lauderdale. The group has a history of constructing residential high-rises across the country.
The Herald-Tribune reached out to the investment group for a statement but has not received a response.
While the property had been for sale for the last seven years, clients and volunteers like Meahan were shocked by the news that they needed to vacate the property. The group has been looking for a new location for the last few months, but it’s been difficult to find something in their price range and with a large enough space. They have temporarily closed until they find a new location.
Both Meahan and Gratitude Club Director Chuck Merritt fear this property sale is another step toward Sarasota losing its character to monochromatic skyrises.
“The quaint charm of the city is being gentrified into something that's all building up, and for some people, that's amazing progress,” Meahan said. “The problem is that you have organizations like us being moved out that actually provide a need that is necessary for a city to function.”
The property's current zoning includes “single story buildings, small scale multi-family and townhomes,” according to zoning ordinances. City officials said they have not received any petitions to rezone the property yet.
In August, the City Commission unanimously changed the zoning code to provide density bonuses, allowing downtown zoning districts to quadruple so long as private developers set aside 15% of the bonus units for affordable housing.
The property is a walking distance from institutions that provide drug treatment, the Salvation Army, drug court, and the courthouse. It provided a space for people to donate clothes or food and socialize in a safe, sober space. There was also a bulletin board for job and housing postings.
That's not good. Addiction and mental health services are already bare bones. Now you will have more addicts milling about on the streets causing trouble, and more of them in jail and law enforcement having to deal with them more. Jails are basically full of druggies and mental illness folks. Florida has a big druggie problem as it is.
The District 2 Sheriff’s Office is in the process of becoming a 23,000 square foot, all-encompassing facility for people in need.
“It’s completely unique to Manatee County. We have never had anything like this before,” said Commissioner Amanda Ballard, who is leading the “Under One Roof Family Shelter” project.
The shelter will be a one-stop-shop for resources for homeless people or people at risk of becoming homeless. Families will be able to stay in the shelter for three or four months, and have access to services like counseling, tutoring for kids and help finding a job.
“This is going to be an opportunity for those kinds of families to get back on their feet and not fall into that cycle of poverty and homelessness,” said Ballard.
The county is currently working on finding a non-profit to operate the shelter on a day-to-day basis.
“The non-profit will have a vetting process to make sure the family fits the requirements that they are looking for, that they are willing to work with the programs that are here, and really want that hand up,” said Ballard.
The county is still working with an architect to see how many people the shelter will be able to accommodate at a time, but Ballard hopes to have a few families in the shelter by Christmas of this year.
The District 2 Sheriff’s Office is in the process of becoming a 23,000 square foot, all-encompassing facility for people in need.
“It’s completely unique to Manatee County. We have never had anything like this before,” said Commissioner Amanda Ballard, who is leading the “Under One Roof Family Shelter” project.
The shelter will be a one-stop-shop for resources for homeless people or people at risk of becoming homeless. Families will be able to stay in the shelter for three or four months, and have access to services like counseling, tutoring for kids and help finding a job.
“This is going to be an opportunity for those kinds of families to get back on their feet and not fall into that cycle of poverty and homelessness,” said Ballard.
The county is currently working on finding a non-profit to operate the shelter on a day-to-day basis.
“The non-profit will have a vetting process to make sure the family fits the requirements that they are looking for, that they are willing to work with the programs that are here, and really want that hand up,” said Ballard.
The county is still working with an architect to see how many people the shelter will be able to accommodate at a time, but Ballard hopes to have a few families in the shelter by Christmas of this year.
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