Riviera Beach launched an affordable housing project last week in its booming Marina District off Broadway.
Villa L’Onz will be on 11th Street and Avenue E on the city’s south end, one block west of Broadway.
- The first phase will be a $7.5 million development with 12 two- and three-bedroom townhouses.
- An identical row of townhouses will follow to the north.
- Then, builders will begin to construct 30 apartment-style condominiums and space for a store.
It’s an important step because Palm Beach County has an affordable and workforce housing crisis, the county’s Housing and Leadership Council said last year.
- Home prices and rents continue to rise at a pace that outstrips the increase in workforce income and challenges the ability to retain and attract workers.
- The county got voter permission to borrow $200 million to help developers build more affordable homes.
The project’s partners, the Riviera Beach CRA and the city’s Community Development Corp., are investing $3 million and have borrowed $4.5 million to get Villa L’Onz off the ground, CDC Executive Director Annetta Jenkins said.