October 18, 2021
The Key West Housing Authority and the City of Key West are pleased to announce that the city’s newest affordable housing project is ready to begin construction. In a joint effort with these two independent agencies and the Monroe County Land Authority, closing documents were finalized late last week.
The contractor, Gulf Keystar, is on-site and ready to begin construction on the 103-unit Garden View Apartments on College Road. Each one-bedroom unit will be about 650 square feet, and the project includes parking for 125 cars as well as bike and scooter parking.
According to Housing Authority Director Randy Sterling, 92 of the units will be designated for low-income households, eleven of them will be reserved for extremely low-income households, of which six will be reserved for residents with special needs.
“The partnership between the City, the Housing Authority, and the Land Authority is monumental in addressing the affordable housing shortage in this community,” he said. “But we have to recognize the other players, without whom we couldn’t go forward.”
Those important players include the lender, Truist Bank (formally BB&T), the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the Department of Economic Opportunity, and the staff of all the entities whose dedication helped make this project possible.
“This partnership has gotten us where we need to be in providing affordable housing that our community so greatly needs,” said City Manager Patti McLauchlin. “Because of the hard work and cooperation among these independent agencies, our community will benefit, and at no cost to the taxpayer.”
Construction is estimated to take about 18 months. Garden View Apartments will occupy the land that formerly housed the old mosquito control facility, the former SPCA, and Easter Seals.
