A community of 162 new apartments is proposed to rise off Fort Lauderdale’s Sistrunk Boulevard — aiming to help address “a huge demand” for residences.
The new community, Village of the Arts, is proposed as mixed-use development on a 1.67-acre at 543 NW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale within Progresso Village.
The project, right off Sistrunk Boulevard just west of Flagler Avenue, proposes more than apartments, with commercial space as well.
“The Master Plan identifies the Sistrunk Blvd. and NW 7th Street corridors as the most desirable location for multi-family, retail and mixed use projects,” a representative for the project wrote in papers to Fort Lauderdale City Hall.
The project proposes one six-story building consisting of 162 multifamily rental apartments with 7,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial use. There is an amenity deck, according to papers filed with City Hall.
The residential component of the project includes a mix of 13 studio units, 92 one-bedroom units, and 57 two-bedroom apartments.
Broward County commissioners signed off on a land-use change that would allow the developer to turn vacant land destined for commercial space to now be used for “moderate” housing — and helped provide the financing to make it happen.
The county contributed $5 million in a “gap financing” deal — taxpayer money used to pay the difference between what the developer has to spend on construction and what they would be able to borrow, said Ralph Stone, Broward County’s director of the Housing Finance Division.
That would allow 143 of the units to be set aside for families earning no more than 120% of the area median income, making it a “moderate income” affordable level. That means a one-person household would have to earn up to $88,000, and a family of four is capped at $126,000, he said.
“There’s a huge demand for the units,” Stone said. “People are earning this income and can’t find property that’s affordable.”
Chris Cooper, Fort Lauderdale’s director of the Development Services Department, said there are affordable housing efforts underway elsewhere: He said 256 units of the 463 affordable housing units currently under review are within four developments that are in the area of the Village of the Arts development on Sistrunk Boulevard, Northwest Third Avenue, and Northwest 13th Avenue.
The project still needs final approval from the city. The developer could not be reached for comment.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash