TITUSVILLE, FL - Housing Trust Group (HTG), one of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing, closed on financing to begin construction of 86 new affordable apartments in Brevard County Florida. Luna Trails is a $19.6 million multifamily community located at 1705 South De Leon Avenue. All of the units will be reserved for family households earning at or below 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), which is currently $38,880 for a family of four.
The new community, which is scheduled to be delivered October 2019, will offer affordably priced rents ranging from $346 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to $791 per month for a three-bedroom apartment. These reduced rents were made possible through the use of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), a federal program administered through the State to provide financing for the development of affordable housing. The community will remain affordable for a minimum of 50 years.
“We are delighted by the opportunity to work with the City of Titusville to bring more affordable apartments to this community, which has not seen any new affordable housing development in some time,” said HTG President and CEO Matthew Rieger. “We have a long track-record of building apartment communities that enhance the communities in which they are in, and provide residents with an array of amenities and resident services that are on par with, or exceed, those found in market-rate communities. Luna Trails will be no exception – it will provided beautiful, new and much-needed affordable housing to the area.”
According to the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida, Titusville has a severe deficit of apartments that are affordable to those in the lowest income category (30 percent AMI or less) – roughly 8,000 units are needed to meet the current demand.
Funding for Luna Trails was provided through an $14.2 million construction loan from TD Bank; $14.3 million of 4 percent low-income housing tax credit equity through Raymond James; a $1.2 million Florida Housing Viability Loan; and $2.7 million permanent loan from Neighborhood Lender Partners. The first phase of development will create approximately 125 local construction jobs, and three permanent jobs on site.
The unit mix at Luna Trials will consist of 69 1-bed/1-bath, five 2-bed/2-bath, and 12 3-bed/2-bath apartments. Nine of these units will be set aside for Very Low Income (“VLI”) individuals at 40 percent of AMI, which is currently a maximum income of $25,920 for a family of four. Amenities at Luna Trails include a swimming pool, clubhouse, exercise room and shuffleboard court.
HTG has won several awards for its affordable properties throughout Florida, and currently has several other affordable housing communities in various stages of development.
About Housing Trust Group: Housing Trust Group (HTG) is an award-winning full-service developer of multifamily residential communities whose real estate transactions exceed $2 billion in commercial, land and residential developments across Florida, the Southeastern U.S. and Arizona. HTG develops, builds and manages a diverse portfolio of affordable housing, workforce housing, market-rate housing, and mixed-use developments. For more information, please visit www.htgf.com