Grove Manor Redevelopment - #016

Al Kirkland and Rick Grogan join us today to talk about the Grove Manor redevelopment and about how the history northwest district and historic downtown Lake Wales are being connected

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:14

Hello, Lake Wales. Welcome to our new episode of The Mayor and the Manager. This is a podcast that is a part of the media ministry of High Point Church, which also owns Providence Voice. Okay. Ben, I'm starting over again. Here we go. Hello, Lake Wales. Welcome to the Mayor and the Manager. This is a podcast produced by Providence Voice, which is the media ministry of High Point Church. And we created it so that you, citizens of Lake Wales, could get to know better the people that you elect and pay to serve you. And also so that we can keep you aware of what is happening here in the city of Lake Wales. And for today's podcast, I am joined once again by our city manager, James Slayton. James, good to see you.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Good to see you, Mary. Good morning.

SPEAKER_04 0:57

And uh we also have a couple of special guests today. Al Kirkland, who's the director of the housing authority here in the city of Lake Wales. Al, thank you for being with us.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Good morning. A pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_04 1:07

And then Rick Grogan, who um Rick, you're gonna have to tell me exactly what your title is. I see you all the time, but I sometimes I don't know what you're doing here in Lake Wales.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

So Well, first let me say thank you for having us. And uh I'm the vice president of development with Smith and Hensley Affordable Group out of Delray, Florida.

SPEAKER_04 1:22

Okay, very good. Well, we appreciate appreciate all three of you being a part of the podcast today. And uh today we're gonna talk about another historic day in the city of Lake Wales. June the 8th uh was another day, and it seems like we've been saying that a lot. There is a lot of once-in-a-lifetime things that are happening uh in Lake Wales. I am and I'm the mayor, and I'm amazed at time what's going on around here. So uh June the 8th, I showed up at the Austin Center on MLK here in uh the city and saw a huge piece of land cleared and new development happening and um and the groundbreaking of Grove Manor. So that's what we're gonna talk about. Um and I'm gonna start this way. Mr. Kirkland, will you do uh me the favor and our audience the favor, first of all, kind of telling them who you are and what your history here is in Lake Wales and uh and about kind of how we the history of the Grove Manor, the whole thing leading up to what happened on Monday. I know that's a lot, but let's just start working through it. And you feel free, all of us, to kind of jump in, but we'll start that way.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

I'm Al Kirkland, uh executive director of Lake Wales Housing Authority. I've been executive director there for 34 years now. Okay. Um actually I'm a graduate of Florida AM University. And um my initial goal was to come back to my community and make a difference. So actually, I started off with um uh delinquency probation with youth, okay, then transferred into housing eventually, and I was appointed executive director in 1992. Um, and what we noticed when I when I first got in the industry was that housing was beginning to change, and there was a shift, there was beginning to shift away from public housing. This was even back in the early 19 uh 90s, and so we began to look at how are we gonna transform our properties uh into something that was affordable. And uh actually our first project was in 2012 was Sunrise Park, okay, which consists of 72 tax credit units, 36 public housing units. So from that we began to look at what we could do with Grove Manor.

SPEAKER_04 4:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

And we knocked around on a quite a few a lot of ideas, and then eventually we began to work with uh Smith and Hensey to um to see how we were able to bring that into a reality.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

Okay. Okay. So uh Sunrise, for folks who may not be familiar, where's that one located at?

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Sunrise Park is located on 750 O Cynic Highway.

SPEAKER_04 4:35

Okay, all right. So um and I remember when that happened, and it certainly was quite an upgrade. It was quite a difference. And you said that was the first major project that you did uh kind of heading towards this direction. Yes. Okay, and then that led to your uh bumping into Rick and Smith Hensey. And so I'm gonna that's a good point for us to bring you in, Rick, and talk about. So I'd like for you to kind of talk about the history, uh, the timeline of this project for Grove Manor. And I heard a little bit of it at the groundbreaking on Monday, but kind of talk to us about how this happened and what all went into making this come to this big day on on June the 8th.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

Okay. Well, first of all, we uh we entered into a master development agreement with the Lake Wells Housing Authority in 2016.

SPEAKER_04 5:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Uh, and that agreement just spells out, you know, what we're going to do on behalf of the housing authority roles and responsibilities. That's what that agreement uh entails. Uh we started uh applying to Florida housing for funding in 2017. Okay. And we would file at least one application on a yearly basis, uh culminating in our win in 2023, where we were awarded funding. But, you know, during that six-year period, uh it was around 2022 when the Lake Whales Connected plan uh I would say was really coming, you know, into vision, where we really had an idea, the city had an idea of what they wanted to do. And they had hired Dover Cole uh as their uh redevelopment you know, manager, I would say. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:12

Um well he was the visionary.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

The visionary. That's a that's a better way to say it.

SPEAKER_04 6:17

Okay, so I'm gonna interrupt you there for just a second. So Mr. Kirkland, the housing authority of Lake Wales, walks into Smith Hensey's office. Uh and uh and basically there's a vision here. We want to do something different.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Well, and actually, you know, what they do is they put out a request for qualifications. Okay. You know, uh actually it's an application process that they send out. Uh anyone can apply for it, anyone who has that experience as a developer. Uh, and based on their review of the application, we were selected. Okay, you know, to be their development partner. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 6:52

And I'm gonna come back to that. But Mr. Kirkland, you can help me with this too. So the but the primary motivation is we want something better. We want something that's that's that's more beautiful. I mean, that's our motto here in Lake Wales. Make the world a little bit better and more beautiful because you've been here. But there's the motivation for the housing authority in Lake Wales was we got it, we want to do something nicer, better.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

Well, and typically, you know, the housing at the property where Grove Manor exists is roughly 26 acres. Yeah. Okay. And there was 140 units on the property. Okay. Uh scattered amongst, I believe, L 70 buildings. 72 buildings. 72 buildings. Yeah. Uh, which really, when you think about it, is not the best use of space. Okay. You know, when you have 26 acres and you have 70 scattered buildings, there's a lot of open land. Yeah. Uh the housing, it was public housing, it was built quite a long time ago. It was here when I came in 89. Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

Yeah, 1972.

SPEAKER_04 7:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

So the housing authority was also spending a lot of money on repair and maintenance.

SPEAKER_04 7:55

Right. Well, so it's and it's old and and and I would say it it had a very uniform kind of drab and dated look to it.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Well, you know, one would say that it was the typical idea that people had about public housing. Okay. So small brick buildings. Yeah. Okay. You know, uh and their goal was to modernize it. Yeah. To actually make it into something better.

SPEAKER_04 8:18

So yeah, so that's the motivation that brings you to a Smith Hensy. Uh, and I remember um when I first came on the commission in in an appointed or in a yeah, in an appointed position, kind of filling a gap there, was the first time I started to see. I remember meeting with the housing authority in the in one of the rooms there at the library and started to see the the vision. And it's really a very attractive uh development. You, Mr. Kirkland, you mentioned Sunrise Park, which was quite an upgrade from what was there prior. It has that look to it. It's very nice, it's really an attractive thing. Um, so uh you you were the ones that kind of was that plan already in place?

SPEAKER_02 9:01

And and that's a little funny story there. So, you know, in 2017, we you work with an architect and you put together a tentative site plan, the vision of what you want to build. So, like I said, in 2020, the Lake Wales Connected Plan was coming in place. So we took our plan, yeah, basically, here's what we want to do. And those initial meetings, Dover Cole was there, and they looked at our plan and were basically was like, yeah, no. Okay. No, this is not what you're going to build. Okay. And uh probably over the next three or four months, really, uh, that plan came into fruition. We we're actually adding a couple streets to that. We're we're building streets that will be dedicated to the city once completed. Uh it's gonna be more of a neighborhood now. Right. You know, that's what it's gonna be. It's gonna be a neighborhood that's gonna connect the northern uh neighborhoods to the downtown area. So and Dover Cole was instrumental in working with us. The CRA was, the city council was, you know, everyone had an opinion, and that's how we kept modifying some opinions we could do and and some things, you know, are just outside of the financial resources we have because you do have a finite amount of money that you could use. So it worked out, and now we have a four-phase plan for the 26 acres.

SPEAKER_04 10:30

I I just remember looking at the plan, and it's a very attractive and very exciting plan for so I'll let you get started again, but one more thing. You Dover Cole and the city planning. How um how much did it contribute to the project then that you were able to work with a city that had that kind of an overall vision um for what was going on? In regards to Well, I mean, does it help when you're oh no, absolutely help?

SPEAKER_02 10:57

Because, you know, we were coming at it from developers from the standpoint of this is typically the product we build. Right. Okay. Right. That was our vision. Here's typically what we do. Whereas the city in Dover Cole was coming at it from a much wider scale. Yeah. You know, they were looking at the northern neighborhoods, the downtown area, and basically saying, and at one point, and I think it's actually written into the plan that Grove Manor apartments is pivotal to connecting the neighborhoods. Yeah. So once you see that in writing and you see that plan going in place, it definitely became more of a group effort. Okay. You know, and that's how we looked at it. It wasn't we were like, okay, we'll crumble this one up, throw it away.

SPEAKER_04 11:42

I just I bring it up because we've on past episodes and we talk about this a lot, that what we have done very well, I think, in the city of Lake Wales is planning, strategic planning. And I want people to see how that that investment of time and strategic planning pays off in, you know, in so many ways that we're not even aware of. So I interrupted you. Go ahead. This is a big involved process. So keep walking through the timeline then.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Okay, so the the the timeline. So uh in 2023, we were awarded funding. And, you know, one of the things you first have to do after your award of funding is you have to deal with HUD. Okay, because this is a public housing site. And you have to get HUD's permission uh to dispose of it as public housing and convert it to a public private partnership, which is what it is now. Okay. Uh that process took uh almost a year uh to get through that process. Uh however, once you get through that hurdle, you know, we closed in April. Uh construction commenced uh early May. Uh we had our groundbreaking on the 8th. Uh construction is projected to be completed uh next August. Okay. Uh and at that point, you know, the we have four residential buildings uh in phase two of this project. Okay. Uh 78 units. The buildings will be completed not all at the same time. It's a staggered, you know, completion. So once buildings are completed, you start pre-leasing. Okay. So the plan is that by the time the fourth building is completed, uh we'll be fully leased. Okay. You know, and uh people will be moving in. So by September, the plan is that we'll be 100% leased. Uh and then we'll have a grant opening. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Uh and this year, uh, in the 2026 Florida Housing RFA cycle, we're going to be applying for funding on phase three, uh, which is an adjacent phase. So uh if we receive a ward of that, we will be able to complete the whole interior section of the property from uh MLK Boulevard all the way to First Street. Okay. You know, so the whole interior section will be complete.

SPEAKER_04 14:00

And that I think the thing that's um, and I heard other people say this is when you see it all cleared, you don't realize until you see that how big a piece of our city that represents.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

You know, uh another little anecdotal story. When Pipe Construction, uh, who is the GC, sent me the pictures of the completed demolition, it was so large, I actually got worried that they took down buildings they weren't supposed to. So actually when we got the site plan, it was like counting buildings.

SPEAKER_04 14:33

Uh I can only imagine feeling five heart sickers like oh no.

SPEAKER_02 14:39

So yeah, phase two actually represents 7.79 acres of the 26-acre site. Isn't that crazy? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:45

It was it was very big when you see it all cleared off. So uh just uh a huge investment in our downtown. So let's talk about you said something that I think it's important for us to help everyone understand. This is not public housing. This is a public-private partnership.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

What's the difference? Well, with uh public housing is uh basically is federally funded by HUD. And with that, it's based upon 30 percent of a family's adjusted gross income. And there are rules that you have to follow by with HUD. What we're doing now, that is basically through uh tax credits. And with those tax credits, that's uh basically through Florida Housing Finance, and that comes through the the uh federal tax credits from Internal Revenue Service, the IRS. Yeah. And so that's the way that streamline comes, and that's based upon the uh 60, I believe this one is 60 percent of the median income of the area. And so what you'll be having is that um you'll have families uh paying rent, uh affordable rent according to the market in the area. Okay. Okay. So that's basically the difference. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 16:08

All right. So when you describe that, it started in 2017, it's gonna finish in 2027. That's a decade. Oh, yeah. So absolutely. So talk to us, talk to our people. So they understand this is monumental that we've arrived at this point. It has taken a great deal of tenacity uh on the part of our housing uh authority and our director. People have worked long and hard. But why such a long process? And and you used the word funding. So let's talk about that because that's been the discussion at CRA meetings in Lake Wales for a while.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Right. Uh basically the application process through Florida Housing, uh, the way it works is Florida Housing sends out individual RFAs, requests for applications on various types of housing.

SPEAKER_04 16:57

Okay, so Lake Wales Housing Authority sends a request. We want to do this big redevelopment of Grove Manor.

SPEAKER_02 17:03

Based on the application that Florida Housing has sent out. Okay. Uh and Florida Housing will issue, they'll let you know what amount of tax credits for each RFA they're providing. Okay. Okay. Um and that application is reviewed to make sure you provided all of the threshold items for the application. Talk to me about what a threshold item would be. Okay, the threshold items are things like you have to have site control. You either have to have a purchase and sale contract or a long-term ground lease. Okay. You have to have all your letters of intents from your fine letters of intent from your financing type. Okay. All right. Construction financing, permanent financing, someone to buy your tax credit equity. Okay. Because even though Florida Housing will issue the tax credits, you need to have a private group to buy those tax credits. That's where the money comes from. Okay. Florida Housing doesn't give you the $18 million in tax credits. A private equity firm gives you the $18 million. All right. Florida Housing is the conduit with the IRS tax.

SPEAKER_04 18:07

And that's what Mr. Kirkland and the Housing Authority had to do with you, right? In advance.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

Well, yeah, we work with them to, you know, you get the site plan, you know what you're going to build, you have to confirm zoning, your letters of intent. You know, you have to get all that stuff. You put it in a package, you send it to Florida Housing. They review it to make sure you have everything. Okay. It's deemed correct. But uh before any of that is done, the way it works now is Florida Housing assigns a lottery ball to every application that comes in for that specific RFA. Okay. And within the RFA, they have various goals and preferences. Okay. And a goal may be we first want to fund a family development that has an LGAO, which stands for Local Government Area of Opportunity. Okay. So what they'll do is that's the first goal they want to do. So they'll look at, okay, what development has the highest lottery ball that meets that goal? Okay. And that's who gets awarded. Now you your development could be needed more in a community. There could be Auburn Dale, for example, might have such a need for affordable housing, but you know, Fort Mead might have submitted one and they got a higher lottery ball. Okay. And they don't need affordable housing as much. Right. But they would win because they had the higher lottery ball. Yeah. So that's how it's done now. And it's done that way now because in years past they used to have what was known as a universal cycle.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:42

Which if Florida housing had a hundred million dollars to disperse in affordable housing, it would be one RFA. Uh it wouldn't even be, it wasn't even called an RFA, it was called the universal cycle. And every developer who was doing any type of development would apply. Sure. Sure.

SPEAKER_04 19:59

Who wouldn't do that? Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

Yeah. And they would and part of the application process was a lot of narratives and write-ups about the virtues of your development. Okay. And these were all scored and and they were looked at by staff, and staff would rank them based on what they thought through a point system.

SPEAKER_04 20:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

And that's how they would award funding. So it wasn't contractors, it was English teachers. Pretty much. Yeah. Uh and basically that caused a lot of lawsuits. Sure. You know, there's always developers would be like, my my development is more deserving, or the items that they provided, you know, for this threshold really shouldn't work. So that's why Florida Housing evolved it to where it is now, to where it is more threshold and lottery system. Yeah. Which eliminated a lot of the lawsuits, got the money dispersed faster, got things being built faster, which was the goal of Florida Housing. Sure. To get more apartment units in the state of Florida for affordable housing. So it really, although it you can get hamstrung sometimes by the lottery ball system, uh, it's a benefit to the state of Florida, really, is what it comes down to.

SPEAKER_04 21:11

So I remember um a few meetings, a few years where we were in the running and didn't get it. Correct. And I remember that phrase, our ball didn't get pulled. I mean, our lottery ball didn't come up. And but so that that leads me to the next place. How in the world, why were we having these meetings with the CRA of Lake Wales? This is a housing authority project, which is a different governing body in uh in our city. And yet, so I'm gonna bring in our city manager, James Leighton. Let's talk about our history as the city working in cooperation. How does how did that get started? What's that what's that all about?

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Well, so it is a public-private partnership um with more than one public entity. So we're we're one of them. So the um the request of the CRA was that we contributed toward the the the project. And s and we did, by the way, because we believe in it. And it it is the keystone between downtown Lake Wales and the Northwest neighborhood.

SPEAKER_04 22:09

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

That that that that complex. Well, from anywhere to the north. From anywhere to the north. It it really is. And so we we wanted to partner with them. And it materialized uh in such a way that, you know, our request was, because I think, you know, for this this phase, we we call it for you guys, right? So construction, it's phase two, but for us, it's really phase one because it's really the first phase. And you know, the CRA contributed million dollars. One million dollars toward this first phase. It was so uh important to us. Um, and so for for that million dollars, our request was well, look, can our urban urban planning firm, Dover Quill and Partners, that created the uh Lake Wells Connected plan, can they assist in in really designing that complex so that it fits in um with everything, everything that we're doing? Um and so that's that's really how everything worked out and how this partnership um came about. And so we're very, very fortunate and and happy that that they've won the lottery bowl this time. And so, yeah, you we contributed toward the toward the project. Yeah, and for a lot of reasons. One of which is, you know, I'll say this the um currently the as the current Grove Manor uh is structured, federally funded, federally owned, we don't we don't receive any tax benefit from them whatsoever. And they certainly receive city services. Yeah. So through this new arrangement with the improvements, the land will still be owned by the federal government, but the improved new structures will then thus be taxable, and they'll be contributing toward the tax increment within the CRA. So we've got a return on investment for that for that million dollars. Right.

SPEAKER_04 23:50

Yeah. Good. And how did it help your chances, our chances, with that the city came in like that?

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Well, when the city came in, basically the million dollars was provided to us as an LGAO, a local government area of opportunity grant.

SPEAKER_03 24:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

And based on that, uh, we were able to meet both the goal and the preference of Florida housing. Okay. So uh in 2023, we had the higher lottery ball and we met that goal. So when they went down the list, basically we had the highest lottery ball. Yeah. And therefore we got that.

SPEAKER_04 24:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

And uh, you know, that is how that works. So it worked out perfectly. Yeah. So it's a big deal. It is a very big deal to get local government support. Yeah. If you don't have local government support in the way the goals and preferences are structured now, uh your odds of of actually winning an award uh, you know, are very, very low. You know, I can't put a percentage on it, but they're very low.

SPEAKER_04 24:48

We'd still be talking about it. We didn't get it.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Correct. So, Mayor, do you do you mind if I ask just for for your your listeners here, uh, Al and Rick, why would people be excited about the the this new redeveloped growth growth manner? What why would our citizens be excited? What what's the difference, you know, aesthetically, amenities, features, you know, what what are the contrast or compare the the current complex to the new one? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:15

Well, what I look at is enhancement of neighborhood in the community. That's one. The uh other piece is this is uh increasing uh jobs in the area. So um it's gonna help out businesses around the area as as well. And we want to be a part, the housing authority, but it also with the community. We want to be a part of this vision of making Lake Wells beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 25:47

Yeah. So talk. You said something, it it it increases jobs, um, it makes the neighborhood nicer. I I remember looking at the plans. There are parts of it that jumped out to me, just as a guy looking at plans. Wow, that's really cool, that part of it. What one what one part of it really jumps out at you that you're personally the most excited about?

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Um the overall uh renderings of the plan of what it what it can actually look like and what it's gonna bring to the community. Um, the increase of uh we're building more units, so we're gonna be able to serve more families. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 26:29

So I uh I'll tell you like uh well one I'm gonna ask you that question. You you were part of that planning. What is there a particular feature that it's just unusual to me when people again, first of all, it's not public housing, it's public-private housing. That's I think it's good for people to understand that. But it what it's not at all what I would have expected for people who have been driven pat driving past Grove Manor for decades, it's completely different.

SPEAKER_02 26:55

Well, I think that's the whole key. I mean, you know, the existing Grove Manor was built in the 70s, and it's that old type of block building construction. Yeah. You know, you know, one-story scattered buildings across a 26-acre piece of property. What we're doing now, we're putting a uh modern apartment buildings in that you know, these are the same style apartment buildings that are built for uh market rate housing. Yeah, you know, these aren't, you know, there's not a well affordable housing apartment building, a market rate apartment building. Yeah, they're basically the same.

SPEAKER_04 27:30

They look very much so.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

Uh the difference, you know, basically the difference would be the square footage of the units. You know, as market rate, you know, you you are able to charge much higher rents. Uh so I think that's really what it is. You you're modernizing the look of the development, you know, the colors of development, the increased landscaping, the street lighting, you know, the amenities that we're providing, or putting a community center. Yeah, that's now that's what I was getting to. Right. There's a community center that is going to be available to the residents that, you know, we're gonna have programs there. I mean, some of the programs that we're offering, you know, financial management uh for the for the staff. Uh we're we're doing uh literacy training if anyone has English as a second language type of thing. Yeah. So, you know, we're supporting the residents. So really, you know, it's not just housing, it's community now. Yeah, you know, and that's really what we're trying to do.

SPEAKER_04 28:24

Well, and not only that, but like Mr. Kirkland was sharing, that we are able to there'll be more people living there, which is meets one of our goals of trying to create a little bit more greater density around our downtown area and having people live close to our downtown area. Uh more foot traffic, more people enjoying what's happening down there. All of that's very important.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

So and ultimately when, you know, phases uh one, two, and three, uh it's gonna be up to uh up to 300 units are gonna be on the first three phases.

SPEAKER_04 28:56

All within short walking distance of the downtown.

SPEAKER_02 28:59

And phase four, which is along uh Sesame's Avenue, uh, we've discussed with the city, uh, the city would like to develop that property separately. Oh, and put bungalows and little single-family homes there to really make it look like a neighborhood.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Yeah, so we'll talk about that. The um right now, as you know, as Rick said, they've got how was it 72 buildings? Yeah, with 72 buildings currently scattered over the site. And so the the new design, so they're going vertical, not number one, but it's going to pull the buildings in, it'll be more centralized with really the parking, um, if I remember the plan correctly, kind of hidden from the road. So now you see. So interior parking, so when you when you go vertical and you you pull those buildings in, it creates a lot more green space, not 26 acres around the periphery. And so the part of the discussion originally with a million dollars is what are you gonna do with that green space? And there are no current, there were no plans for that. So then we say, okay, well, as a CRA then, can we develop a neighborhood, cottage housing or or you know, even commercial around the periphery of Grove Manor? And so they agreed. So it's really gonna, it really is going to uh further integrate Grove Manor into Lake Wells Connector and the rest of downtown Lake Wales.

SPEAKER_04 30:19

Sure. It's uh if so if you are that makes me think if you're already enjoying the landscaping work that has been done throughout our city, that's just gonna continue all the way up through Grove Manor. Yes, it is. Yeah. And it beautifies another entrance to the city. Like I said, I drive right through there. I live on the north side of Lake Wales. Anybody coming from the north, they're coming through Grove Manor. So they're gonna see that. And it I I'm excited about what it's gonna look like.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

So these are um so you guys talked about the kind of the the maybe the pricing structure, right? So this isn't gonna be kind of what I don't know if low income is the word. I'm sure there's a technical word for this, but government subsidized housing.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Basically, what we're doing is it's called income averaging at Florida Housing. So we have a mix of residents that will be uh earning 30% of the area median income, 60% of the area median income, 70%, and 80% of the area median income. So basically we're pulling multiple income strata into this development. Okay. Uh because I think a lot of times too, that's the stigma of of public housing. You know, it's it's low income, yeah, you know, uh and people have a a mental picture of what that is. Uh not that that's a correct mental picture, but it's human nature. Yeah. Uh so this is, you know, it's mixed income. Uh and we're also putting Project Banks vouchers on this, which is a program through HUD. Okay. And the tenants still only pay 30% of their income, and HUD will make up the difference between uh the the rent that's being charged. So we're still trying to serve low-income residents, but we're also trying to put residents in there who are making more that find it difficult to purchase their own house because they're not at that level of income where they can buy a house even though they're making 80%.

SPEAKER_04 32:22

And that's a that's a circumstance for a large part of our population. Affordable housing is a big problem across our state.

SPEAKER_02 32:30

Exactly right. Yeah. So it's more affordable housing what we're putting in than the traditional low-income housing.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 32:36

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

Yeah, and uh Sunrise Park is a prime example of this, uh where you you have a blended community. And with the community being uh, I say blended, um it's almost like the families encourage one another. And there's also services out there for those residents as well, uh, whereas you you're not looking at that old stigma of public housing of in in an from a negative aspect. Right. Um with with this, um you're encouraging your families, you're providing them with opportunities. And so we believe that this is gonna make uh Lake Wells, uh, the Lake Wells area a better place. And one other thing I like about this concept is this um walkability. Yes. It's it's gonna be very accessible to downtown.

SPEAKER_03 33:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:41

And I like the idea of the city manager, uh James Slayton, bringing in the idea of a bicycle trail. Yeah. Right, right. Coming down that area.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

Yeah, it's all a part of the we call it peddlers and pedestrians. Not to mention the fact that in the last few years we've gotten the citrus connection stops right there.

SPEAKER_03 34:02

Right.

SPEAKER_04 34:03

So yeah, it's uh it it is all fitting into an overall plan. It certainly is a good thing to see. So I'm gonna close with this. This uh uh James, talk to us about as the city manager, how does this what why is this such a big deal for the city as a whole? What how does this been? You already talked about tax benefits.

SPEAKER_01 34:21

I did. I am gonna talk, you know, and I have to talk about that. So so there is there is some tax benefit uh uh to that. But you know, and I th I think you know, these gentlemen, uh, you know, I just have to do everything, you know, really that they said. So so we've got, and I I'll call it maybe workforce, you know, probably apartments, right? For the the average everyday person or family that's trying to get by. Um so we've got you know, we've got solutions for them. We may need a lot more of this. If the state has their way and and and wants to increase the homestead exemptions around the state to the point that um right, uh eliminate it's gonna be a lot of renters. And it right. So those costs are gonna end up ultimately getting passed on to a lot of renters, and then it's rent is gonna then become unaffordable. We're getting a lot more of this stuff. So so for now, you know, we we've got kind of workforce apartments coming in and more of them to serve those families. Um, and as she stated, more bodies downtown with discretionary income to spend, and then uh, you know, just the just the overall aesthetics and beauty of what it's gonna bring to the historic core in downtown Lake Wales. I don't know that I could add anything else to that.

SPEAKER_04 35:33

Well, Mr. Kirkland, I know you're a native of Lake Wales, so I'm I know that you are working really hard to make sure that everything that happens there is for the best of the city. And uh I know this has been a grind. It has been a real grind. So we've been in a few meetings and had those exasperated moments, so it was fun to have the exciting moment. And this is just the first step. And and Rick, thank you. Um, gentlemen, thank you for taking the time to come in and help us keep the citizens of Lake Wales informed. We appreciate you being here with us. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 36:02

And if if you ever wanted to come back and give an update on construction and where we are with the next phases, more than happy to do that as well. We'll absolutely do that. We appreciate it. Thank you, guys. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 36:14

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Mayor and the Manager. The goal of this podcast is to keep you up to date on all that is happening in the great city of Lake Wales. To that end, we would love to take questions from you and take the time to answer them. So if you have any questions, just click on submit a question in the description above this podcast.