MIAMI, FL - Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning wants to develop a 190-unit affordable rental housing community for families and the elderly in downtown Miami's Overtown neighborhood. The Alonzo Mourning Charities wants to lease 5 acres of Miami-Dade County-owned land at the southwest corner of Northwest Third Avenue and 17th Street for a $1 a year. The Miami-Dade County Housing Agency currently calls the site home. Miami-Dade's Economic Development and Human Services Committee is scheduled to hear the request on Wednesday. It then is set to go before the Miami-Dade County Commission on Dec. 2. Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, who sponsored the resolution, did not return calls for comment.
In addition to being part of the Heat's championship team in 2006, Mourning has, through his nonprofit organization, sponsored the annual Zo's Summer Groove all-star basketball game to raise money for his charity. The charity was behind construction of the Overtown Youth Center in 2003 and sponsors the Honey Shine mentoring program for young girls.
According to the nonprofit's most recent tax return available, it had $2.8 million in revenue and spent $2.1 million on programs and services in 2006. It was $90,480 in the red at the end of that year. If the county commission approves the rental-housing proposal, it would be a first for the nonprofit. "We are not in a position to talk about it at this time," said Lisa Joseph, development director for Mourning Charities. She did not answer an e-mailed question about the project's funding source.
Joseph referred questions to developer Shawn Wilson, executive VP of the Housing Trust Group, a Coconut Grove-based for-profit real estate investment, development and management company, which has completed other affordable housing projects in South Florida.
Wilson confirmed that Mourning's charity plans to construct three buildings with about 190 units total, as listed in the resolution. About 95 of the two- and three-bedroom units would be reserved for families with an income at or below 60 percent of the county's adjusted median income. Elderly residents will have to meet the same income criteria to qualify for the 95 planned one-bedroom units.
Wilson said his company and the charity would form a joint venture to develop the property. He declined to say whether the land would be put into a land trust. Properties developed by land trusts pay property taxes. But, appreciation in land value is limited through the terms of a long-term lease. Mourning's charity plans to apply for tax credits from the Florida Housing Finance Corp., according to the county resolution. "This is a fantastic concept," Wilson said. "It is something we are all very excited about."
Although Wilson said he recognized the joint venture is seeking use of a county-owned asset, he would not provide more information than what was in the resolution. "We would be happy to discuss all the details on the development as soon as the county commissioners have voted," he said.
In 2007, the Housing Trust Group built Green Cay Village, a 400-unit community in Delray Beach with condominium units and townhomes that were for sale and rent. It was Palm Beach County's first affordable housing development marketed to teachers, police officers and other public service jobs, according to the project Web site. The Housing Trust also developed Malibu Bay, a 264-unit rental apartment building in West Palm Beach. The project, which was completed in 2005, was developed on a former golf course that had been declared a brownfield.
Source: South Florida Business Journal