Tom Rossi arrives at Seed & Bean, a downtown Fort Myers cafe, and walks inside not-quite soaked after a late summer downpour. He is here to talk about affordable housing—and the lack thereof across Southwest Florida—but before he can do that, he must define it.
Affordable housing, the term, has become a great misconception, Rossi (of Renaissance Developing) explained, because people paying $2,000 a month to rent a two-bedroom, market-rate apartment would like to pay less. They would like to have more affordable housing.
Renaissance also will receive an $8.2 million TIF from the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency. “The equity has to clear a hurdle,” Rossi says. “If you can’t clear that hurdle, the project can’t happen.”
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