CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A new workforce housing development is in the works for Middleburg.
It comes as the cost to rent and buy a home in Florida has skyrocketed.
Nathans Ridge, currently being constructed at the intersection of Old Jennings Road and Discovery Drive, is a $28.5 million multi-family rental housing project that will add 192 units of workforce housing to Clay County.
Of the new units, 95% will be reserved for people making less than the area median income, which for a family of four would be just under $45,000.
Clay County Commissioner Jim Renninger is on the Northeast Florida Regional Affordable Housing Subcommittee and has been pushing for more projects like Nathans Ridge. And 5% of the units (10 units) are reserved for individuals making 40% or less of the area median income.
“Affordable housing is an issue right now, but it’s only going to be come a more critical issue as we progress,” Renninger said.
Renninger said the county has approved 354 affordable housing units in the county in the last two years.
Along with the project in Middleburg, there are also projects in the Oakleaf area and in Lake Asbury. The county said all have a waiting list of over 50 people.
The Vestcor Companies (TVC) is a company that specializes in workforce housing projects.
“We are excited to bring additional quality affordable housing units to Clay County with our new developments Nathan Ridge and Molly Crossing. Our existing communities in the area, Cassie Gardens, and Macie Creek filled up immediately and have remained fully occupied since opening. We could not have done it without the support of the local government and the Housing Finance Authority of Clay County,” said Kevin Troup, vice president of TVC Development.
According to data from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, the median sales price for a home in Clay County last month was $345,000. That’s up over 25% in the last year.
And with interest rates and labor costs expected to rise in the coming years, Renninger said he will continue to push for more projects in the future.
“If you don’t get ahead of the problem, you’re behind the problem. And so it’s very important that we as government officials provide and plan for housing, workforce housing simply because we need workforce, we need workforce service workers, we need teachers, we need firefighters, we need security personnel,” he said.
The county also recently approved another workforce housing project that will use $600,000 in federal COVID-19 relief money.