The Orlando City Council voted to approve a purchase-and-sale agreement to convey city-owned property at 5750 Roberto Clemente Road to Blue Sky Communities to develop 60 affordable rental units targeted to seniors.

The project will include six permanent supportive housing units and 54 units for households at or below 60% of area median income, city housing director Warren Henry told the council during the Sept. 22 public hearing.

“Staff is recommending to partner with Blue Sky Communities for the development of the affordable housing for seniors on the city owned property,” Henry said, describing the site's rezoning history, financing hurdles encountered by earlier developers and the city’s plan to sell the land at $1 to incentivize development.

Why it matters: The property has been vacant more than a decade. The council and staff said the deal will expand Orlando’s stock of lower-cost senior housing in the Inglewood Park neighborhood and return a long-unused parcel to productive use.

The city purchased the parcel in 2023 for $850,000 and an independent appraisal placed current fair-market value at $900,000. Under the city charter, sales of city land below fair-market value require the council to state good cause; councilors cited the project’s affordable-housing purpose.

City staff outlined the next steps: approval of the purchase-and-sale agreement; the developer assembling financing packages that may include Florida Housing Finance Corporation tax-credit allocations (4% or, if available, 9%), tax-exempt bonds, Orange County housing trust funds, and potential Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding. Henry emphasized that the developer must still secure financing and land-development approvals before construction can begin.

Commissioner Bakari Ortiz, who represents the district where the project will be built, called the vote “a dream come true” and praised staff and partners for advancing the site after years of unsuccessful proposals.

“It's been a journey with this particular property,” Ortiz said. “I’m ecstatic about this particular development. I think it’s going to help our seniors incredibly.”

Commissioner Tony Sheehan seconded Ortiz’s motion to approve the sale. No public speakers addressed the hearing. The council voted to approve the purchase-and-sale agreement (motion by Commissioner Ortiz, second by Commissioner Sheehan; the motion carried).

What remains unclear: City staff said the project is intended to serve households at or below 60% of area median income and described current 2025 income limits ($44,300 for one-person households, $50,600 for two-person households), but staff also noted applicants must demonstrate ability to pay rent with applicable utility allowances; the meeting record does not state final rent levels or the exact financing package the developer will use.

The developer will return to city and permitting processes as it secures funding; staff and councilors said they expect further updates as financing comes together.