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Fort Myers council approves funding and fee waivers for two affordable housing projects
Summary
Council approved contributions from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and waived various impact and permit fees to help close financing gaps for two affordable developments: Legacy Park (approximately 130 units) and Reserve at Eastwood (360 units). Officials emphasized increasing construction costs and the need to accelerate unit delivery.
The Fort Myers City Council on March 3 approved financial contributions and impact-fee waivers to support two affordable-housing developments in the city.
Legacy Park (item 7.3): Council approved a request that included a $450,294 contribution from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to cover 60% of water/sewer connection costs, an impact-fee waiver of $594,418.47 (road, fire, EMS, school, parks and administrative fees) and building-permit fee waivers of about $216,105.18. Housing Trust Group described Legacy Park as a two-site project (80 units south building and 50 units north building) targeted to seniors and workforce households, with unit rents set at 60–70% of area median income and amenities such as a pool and community spaces. Developers said rising construction costs and Davis-Bacon wage requirements created a financing gap the city funds and fee waivers help close.
Reserve at Eastwood (item 7.4): Council also approved a larger request for Eastwood I LLC to waive $1,603,415.27 in impact fees (excluding water/sewer), and approved a $1,246,906.68 Trust Fund contribution toward water/sewer connection costs for a proposed 360-unit affordable-apartment community. City staff and council discussed precedent and the long-term tax consequences of 99-year ground-lease arrangements with Florida Housing Finance Corporation; developers said the projects rely on layered federal and state funding and that the city contributions are critical to closing financing and permitting schedules.
Both items passed by roll call vote after questions about fund balances, program eligibility and tax-exempt status. Staff noted that if both allocations were approved as proposed, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund balance would fall to a projected ~ $720,000 (as presented at the meeting).
