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Manatee, Palmetto officials discuss housing, SHIP activity and a new gap‑financing process
Summary
County and Palmetto officials reviewed local affordable housing activity, compliance monitoring, pending gap‑financing application and a proposed Palmetto multifamily project. Staff reported recent SHIP program outputs and monitoring details.
Tracy Adams, Manatee County deputy director for community and veteran services, reviewed recent activity and monitoring for affordable housing programs that serve the City of Palmetto during the March 3 joint meeting.
Adams said the county’s SHIP program has three components — homeownership (down‑payment assistance), rehabilitation and demolition/replacement — and reported that since 2022 the county assisted 20 Palmetto households with down‑payment help, completed seven rehabilitations and performed four demolitions with replacement construction.
Why it matters: Affordable housing and gap financing were raised as priorities for Palmetto’s downtown and for neighborhoods that sustained storm damage. County staff said compliance monitoring is active for several projects with expiring affordability periods, and staff are preparing a gap‑financing application and process for board review.
Adams described compliance work: six units tied to a Tallahassee developer (CRA CDG, listed on county materials) are monitored at 50% of area median income (AMI); Volunteers of America manages five homes at 50% AMI; and Village Group manages two homes at 50% AMI. Adams said those properties were in compliance now but their affordability restrictions would expire in coming years.
Adams and county leaders said staff are reviewing a proposed county gap‑financing application with the county attorney’s office. County staff described the gap program as a tool for the county to provide funding that helps development finance close on projects that otherwise would not be viable.
Rowena Young Gopi, Palmetto’s Community Redevelopment Agency director, said Palmetto is “in dire need of more affordable housing” and that the city hopes portions of future CDBG‑DR or rehabilitation funds could be directed to Palmetto rehab programs. She also described an unsolicited private proposal known as ReEnvision Palmetto: the city plans to convey six CRA parcels for a development expected to include about 20 townhomes and roughly 50 multifamily units, a mix of senior and family units with an unspecified share designated affordable.
Commissioners and staff discussed financing tools used in other parts of the county, including a tax‑increment financing (TIF) district that helps bridge financing in Bradenton. County staff noted Palmetto lacks a similar tax‑increment mechanism and suggested exploring county‑initiated redevelopment tools or contributions to a Palmetto‑area program.
Ending: Officials agreed to continue intergovernmental discussions on gap financing, monitor expiring affordability covenants and pursue joint opportunities to attract affordable‑housing developers to Palmetto.
