Commission recommends LGAO for Blue Trinity Place; $610,000 city commitment available if project wins tax credits
Loading...
Summary
Staff recommended assigning Winter Haven’s LGAO designation to Blue Trinity Place LLC to support an 88-unit 9% low-income housing tax-credit application and noted an available $610,000 city commitment from the affordable housing trust fund if the project wins awards.
City staff presented the subcommittee recommendation to assign Winter Haven’s Local Government Area of Opportunity (LGAO) designation to Blue Trinity Place LLC (Destiny Place), an 88-unit multifamily project intended for a 9% low-income housing tax-credit application to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
The subcommittee (affordable housing advisory committee members) ranked two submissions and recommended Blue Trinity Place as the city’s LGAO. Staff said Polk County and other municipalities will also designate projects and that only one project from Polk County can be awarded the statewide 9% credits in a given cycle; multiple submissions from the county can be placed in the competitive pool but only one will receive awards. The required city commitment for this nomination is $610,000 from the affordable housing trust fund, which staff said is available. Staff noted the Winter Haven Housing Authority has another project that has received Polk County’s LGAO recommendation and that the city had previously made a verbal commitment of $1 million to that authority project.
Commissioners discussed whether a formal city commitment letter or action would strengthen the housing authority’s application and asked staff to confirm whether a written commitment prior to the Florida Housing application deadline (mid-November) would help. Staff recommended assigning the city’s LGAO to Blue Trinity Place for the current application cycle and said the city will return with a formal agreement for funds only if the project is awarded.
Why it matters: the LGAO designation and local financial commitments are important components of competitive 9% LIHTC applications; the city’s trust fund balance was cited as approximately $1.4–$1.5 million and staff said annual transfers support the program.
What’s next: commission action to adopt the LGAO recommendation and staff follow-up on formalizing prior verbal commitments if requested by the housing authority.
