As its population grays, more affordable senior housing is being proposed in Gainesville.
According to City of Gainesville planning documents, there are at least three proposed affordable housing projects set aside for seniors in early-stage development.
Harper’s Pointe, a proposed three-building, 72-unit senior housing complex at 2220 and 2224 E. University Ave., had its concept review processed and approved.
Concepts, which include general project plans, must be approved before developers can apply for federal tax credits, which make affordable housing possible, city planner Forrest Eddleton said.
The tax credits allow developers to offer below-market rents because the projects are financed through the federal Low-income Tax Credit program. The tax credits encourage private investment in affordable rental housing and lower a developer’s borrowing costs.
Wells Fargo provided $11 million toward The Arbours at Tumblin Creek, Gainesville’s first affordable housing project set aside for seniors, which opened last week. Wells Fargo will be able to write that funding off of its federal taxes over 10 years.
Once the projects' concepts have been reviewed and approved, the developers will seek similar funding. Many projects like these are contingent on tax credits being awarded, which is intensely competitive, Eddleton said.
If awarded the tax credits, the projects will enter the standard development review process, which includes permitting, plan adjustments and frequent correspondence with the city planning department.
Other projects, like Deer Creek Apartments, a proposed apartment complex with an unlisted number of units, are still in the concept review process waiting for approval. Deer Creek is proposed to be built near Northwest 55th Boulevard, immediately south of Gainesville’s Senior Recreation Center.
Parkside Senior Apartments, which is proposed to be accompanied by Parkside Apartments, a 144-unit affordable housing complex for all ages, is in the concept review process, as well. It’s proposed to have 128 units for the elderly, its footprint at Southeast 15th Street and Southwest 11th Avenue.
Eddleton emphasized these projects are in “very early stages,” and even if the city approves the projects’ concepts, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will come to fruition.
Pamela Davis, executive director of the Gainesville Housing Authority, said senior housing is one the biggest needs in Gainesville.
“We are very excited about three new developments potentially coming this way,” she said.
They’ll be needed, too, considering how fast Gainesville’s population of residents 65 and older is growing.
According to statistical data from the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida (BEBR), Gainesville's 65-and-older population increased more than 25 percent from 41,738 in 2010 to 52,939 in 2016.
Gainesville’s 65-and-older population accounts for 20 percent of its current population, but projections show it climbing to around 30 percent by 2030, BEBR data shows.
The projected growth has spurred more affordable senior housing development in the last couple of years, according to senior-living industry experts.
Eddleton said Gainesville’s planning department has made the process less taxing for developers to apply for affordable housing concept reviews, which had led to the “mini-boom” in proposals.
Stephen Weeks, Alachua County housing programs manager, said “for a while now,” the county has updated its housing code to make it easier for affordable housing to be built in the county.
Davis said she hopes the proposed developments work out and are able to help fill senior housing needs.
“If we’re successful in being able to get these in," she said, "I think we’ll be ahead of the game as far as helping seniors get housing.”