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Housing Authority asks Sarasota to urge county help for $4M gap on affordable Rosemary project
Summary
Sarasota Housing Authority CEO William Russell said the Authority has a $4 million funding gap for a 96‑unit affordable project that scored highly for CDBG disaster recovery funds; the commission unanimously agreed to send a letter to the county asking for financial consideration while Russell pursues other sources.
William Russell, president and CEO of the Sarasota Housing Authority, told the commission the Authority faces a $4,000,000 shortfall on a proposed four‑story affordable development (described in staff materials with a project name appearing as 'Macoun'/'McAllen' in remarks). Russell said the project had been rated No. 1 in the county’s multifamily funding round but did not receive funding in the initial round; additional disaster recovery funds may be available in a second round and the Authority is seeking alternatives.
Russell said the project still proposes 96 affordable units, includes public parking, and already has substantial funding commitments. He said the Authority scored well because it owns the land and has many financing pieces in place — a comparatively modest last gap of $4,000,000 could enable a roughly $50,000,000 development to proceed and preserve a competitive state award.
Parking and financing questions dominated the commissioners’ questions. Broxton Harvey (S29), general manager of Parking Cities, said that typical construction cost per structured parking space elsewhere ranges from $35,000 to $55,000; when the city’s proposed contribution is factored in, the implied per‑space cost reached roughly $75,000 in the meeting’s preliminary accounting, making it difficult to finance on parking revenue alone. Bond counsel and finance staff told the commission that, because the requested $4,000,000 would not be used solely for a parking garage but toward the broader development, it would be difficult to securitize that amount by pledging parking revenues alone.
Commissioners asked whether the Authority could extend the state deadline; Russell said an extension filing to state housing authorities would be feasible if there was reasonable assurance of funding and that staff would pursue it as needed. Commissioners also discussed informal outreach — letters from the city and local property owners and potential foundation contributions — as ways to encourage county support.
The commission unanimously directed the mayor, through the interim city manager, to send a drafted letter to the Sarasota County Commission urging consideration of financial support for the Housing Authority’s Rosemary‑area project and offering city partnership in outreach.
Speakers quoted in this article are listed in the speaker roster below.
