Leon County adds five parcels to affordable‑housing inventory, staff to coordinate with Tallahassee partners

The Leon County Commission voted unanimously to add five county‑owned parcels to the county’s statutory inventory of properties deemed appropriate for affordable housing and directed staff to coordinate with local housing partners to put the land to use. County Administrator staff said the inventory — required by Florida statutes — also includes properties owned by special districts and allows the county to offer land first to the Tallahassee Lenders Consortium and similar nonprofit partners.

“Upon board approval, staff will work with Tallahassee Lenders Consortium to utilize these properties for future affordable housing projects,” the County Administrator told the commission. He said parcels that are not suitable for housing would be marketed for sale and that net proceeds would go to the Housing Finance Authority.

Commissioners praised a recent home expo and highlighted partnerships with the Community Land Trust and the Housing Finance Authority. Commissioner Proctor suggested forming a special committee to pursue additional opportunities, including federal property transfers mentioned at a national conference. Commissioner Cummings asked whether the county tracks the number of homeless veterans; staff member Abby said the Continuum of Care’s point‑in‑time count (conducted in January) includes veterans and that final numbers would be available within about a month.

Staff explained why some county parcels are not suitable for housing — flood zones, steep slopes, or rights‑of‑way — and said parcels are routed through multiple departments before being placed on the inventory. “Whenever a parcel is available, it goes through a number of departments within the county to assess whether it would be suitable for affordable housing and then it goes on this list,” Abby said.

Commissioner O’Keefe asked whether land sold since 2018 — totaling about $1 million — continued to be used for affordable housing; staff said proceeds have gone to the Housing Finance Authority and that some sold parcels are being developed by partners such as the Tallahassee Lenders Consortium and the Community Land Trust. The commission approved the staff recommendation to adopt Option 1, as presented.

Next steps: staff will notify the Tallahassee Lenders Consortium and other nonprofit partners about the newly listed parcels and provide the commission with the point‑in‑time veteran counts when final results are available.