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Developer says Village Springs affordable complex will restart construction as 39-unit project
Summary
Developer John Kolesky told Walton County advisory board he plans to finish the stalled Village Springs affordable housing project as a 39-unit income-restricted complex using previously invested HOME funds and an expected financing close this month.
John Kolesky of VESCOM Builders told the Walton County Affordable Housing Advisory Board that he intends to restart construction on the stalled Village Springs affordable-housing project and to complete a scaled-down, 39-unit development using previously committed HOME funds from Florida Housing.
Kolesky said PNB Bank contacted him about the partially built site, which had stopped mid-construction around 2020 under the original developer. He described reissuing permits with Walton County and working with Florida Housing and the bank to preserve roughly $4,000,000 that had been invested in the project.
“We pretty much have those all done,” Kolesky said of outstanding development issues. He said the county reissued an updated development order about a month earlier and that he hopes Florida Housing will release funds and close by the end of the month so construction can resume in September. Kolesky said he is the general contractor and will lead the work.
The original project was planned as a 50-unit development under Florida Housing HOME funding and was income-restricted. Kolesky said three buildings were demolished during the hiatus because of erosion and safety hazards; the current plan will finish the buildings already standing and leave room to add the demolished units in the future if needed.
Board members asked about permits, contractor changes, demolition scope and the project’s role in voucher utilization. Kolesky said he has worked with the county to get permits reissued under his company and that the first completed units could be available about six to seven months after construction resumes.
Tom, the housing agency representative, later said the agency’s voucher program is currently frozen because of a federal funding shortfall and that the agency cannot add new households to fill newly completed units until that situation is resolved.
Ending: Kolesky requested continued coordination with Florida Housing and local staff; he and county staff will monitor the financing close and construction timeline, with the advisory board noting the project’s potential role in adding affordable rental stock if federal voucher constraints are resolved.
