Alachua County commissioners direct staff to craft guidelines for $54 million housing surtax, prioritize workforce rentals

Alachua County commissioners voted May 6 to direct staff to draft formal guidelines for the Living Spaces and Thriving Places program — the county’s housing allocation from the Wild Spaces & Public Places surtax — and to return with evaluation criteria to prioritize new workforce rental units and better leverage private capital.

Ralston Riudica, a housing program manager with Community Support Services, told the board the surtax earmarks roughly $54,000,000 for housing over 10 years and that staff has received three applications so far: Banyan Development (near the Royal Park Theater), a partnership between New Star Development and the Gainesville Housing Authority for Oak Park, and Oakview Apartments (J & E Properties). “We approximately have about $54,000,000 for 10 years,” Riudica said, summarizing the fund’s scale and intended gap‑financing role.

The motion asking staff to return with concrete targets and scoring criteria was made after a sustained policy debate. Commissioners pressed staff for more detail…