Oct. 24 deadline set
The application window opened this week for both nonprofit and for-profit developers, as well as Sarasota County public entities, public housing authorities and nonprofit organizations, to apply for the Resilient SRQ Multifamily Affordable Housing Program, county staff announced.
The application period will remain open through Oct. 24, a news release points out. “Project proposals must meet U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirements for funding consideration,” the release notes. “Proposals shall be submitted online.”
In late April, the County Commission approved allocations from a $210.1-million HUD grant to respond to unmet needs that originated with the 2024 hurricane season. Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton inflicted significant damage on the county, as staff has reported.
This is the second county Resilient SRQ program. The first focuses on unmet needs related to Hurricane Ian’s strike on Southwest Florida in September 2023. In that case, HUD gave the county $201.5 million.
Thanks to the latest award, which the county won in January, the “Multifamily Affordable Housing Program has $30 million available in reimbursement grant funding to build or expand affordable housing in Sarasota County for low- and moderate- income households,” the news release notes.
A virtual information sessiond for interested organizations will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., the release adds. Interested participants may register online.
To meet the HUD requirements, applicants must comply with the following criteria, the release continues.
- Provide a proposal for five or more rental units with at least 51% of them priced to be affordable in accord with the income levels that HUD sets for the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
- Agree to a minimum affordability period of at least 20 years.
- Plan for the project to be located in Sarasota County.
- Offer an eligible activity.
- Have secured or taken steps to secure underwriting and include mitigation measures.
The below steps summarize the application and project selection process, the news release points out:
- Organizations must submit their applications online by Oct. 24 to be considered.
- County staff will review and score applications according to the Sarasota County Commission–approved scoring criteria.
- The Sarasota County Commission will review and then vote on projects.
- An applicant with an approved project will enter into an agreement with the county that outlines “project-specific requirements.”
Among the scoring criteria, The Sarasota News Leader found that applicants will receive the maximum number of points in the Leverage of Funding category for initiatives in which the HUD Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery money would cover no more than 20% of the total expense.
For another example, a proposal for which the site has been acquired and zoned for the planned use also would net the applicant the maximum of 20 points in that category.
A proposal for an initiative in which 70.01% to 90% of the units would be marketed as affordable would achieve the maximum 10 points in that category. If only 51% of the units were to be affordable, that would net the applicant zero points, a chart shows.
Additional information may be found below, the release continues:
“Resilient SRQ originally launched the Hurricane Ian Multifamily Affordable Housing Program in March 2024, with $48 million awarded to 10 projects by the Sarasota County Commission, adding at least 476 affordable housing units for income-qualifying households,” the release points out.