Multifamily housing development will bring 80 affordable apartment homes to Jacksonville’s Westside
Representatives from Ability Housing, the City of Jacksonville, JPMorgan Chase and the Florida Housing Finance Corporation broke ground Oct. 25, 2018, on Village at Hyde Park, a multifamily housing development that will bring 80 affordable apartment homes to Jacksonville’s Westside.
“We are all here today because we share the belief that housing should be a right, not a privilege,” said Shannon Nazworth, President and CEO of Ability Housing. “Today, Jacksonville faces a significant shortage of rental homes for our hardworking neighbors that cannot afford market housing. A year from now, 80 of those families will have a safe, stable and affordable place to call home — and that place will be called Village at Hyde Park.”
Village at Hyde Park, located at 6480 Watergate Lane, will include 43 one-bedroom apartments, 23 two-bedroom apartments and 14 three-bedroom apartments, all located within one three-story building. Twenty units will be accessible to individuals with mobility impairments, and eight units will be designed for persons with hearing and/or vision impairments.
Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) standards will be utilized to address energy performance, water conservation, site conditions (including native plants, materials and products) and a healthy interior environment designed to control air and moisture. Construction, which began in November, is expected to take 12 months.
Approximately 3,800 square feet will be allocated for common areas such as office space for property managers and resident services, a library with a computer lab, a conference room, storage space, flexible multi-use space (for meetings, training or entertainment), a break room with a kitchenette, a maintenance shop, laundry rooms and secure indoor bike storage. Outdoor amenities will include a playground, seating areas and open recreation space.
As part of its efforts to increase affordable housing across Florida, JPMorgan Chase invested $150,000 in Ability Housing to help expand its 2018 Villages Program and identify the site for the Village at Hyde Park development. The firm also helped finance the project through a construction loan and equity investment.
Ability Housing purchased the 5.17-acre property for $450,000 in December 2017. Forum Architecture & Interior Design, Inc. is the project architect. Sauer Incorporated is the general contractor.
Financing for the $18.68 million project has been provided by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. and the Corporation for Supportive Housing.
