Historic Win for Affordable Housing Efforts

This week, our community experienced a historic win for the affordable housing issue. The Board of Sarasota County Commissioners voted to approve the largest sum of dollars to leverage nearly 700 affordable housing units. From our Regional Scans to investing in a Blueprint for Sarasota Workforce Housing to support a public-private plan to mitigate this growing crisis and take those recommendations into action, Gulf Coast has been chipping away at the affordable crisis through research, advocacy, and doing what we do best – bringing the right people to the table to affect change in our region. Now, Sarasota County has come together to support new affordable housing units for those in dire need.

How It Began

Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 in March which, among other things, gives money to local governments for COVID-19 relief. Locally, our Sarasota County Commission received $84.2 million in funds to be used for projects or initiatives to support our community – they allocated $5 million of that large sum for affordable housing projects.

In December 2021, community business leaders, nonprofits, and residents told the commission that allocating just $5 million out of $84.2 million to affordable housing would not be enough. The commission agreed to increase the amount to $25 million, and requested Gulf Coast to lead a group on where best to spend the funds.

This community-led coalition, spearheaded by Gulf Coast, worked for months to build a list of recommended projects for the County Commission to consider for the ARPA funds. On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, these recommendations were largely supported by the Sarasota County Commission. A sigh of relief and gratitude was felt by all in the chambers. The commission voted to contribute $25 million in ARPA funds to develop nearly 700 units of affordable housing. These affordable housing units will provide homes to our working community members including police officers, firefighters, teachers and nurses.

The same day the decision was made, the housing provider agencies had already begun meeting with County staff to solidify agreements for construction and implementation timelines.

When people are in crisis and unable to find affordable, stable living, we need additional investment and a funding source at the county level to address this need for years to come. Gulf Coast will continue to fight for hard-working families who have been “priced out” of homes. Persistent efforts to help alleviate our serious housing problem will be met with engaging community stakeholders towards the right mission, and influencing policy change to get us closer to our vision of a place with opportunities for all.