Seniors in pink with new affordable housing project
LONDON: A developer has created an innovative affordable housing project for active seniors and the disabled elderly.
A Miami Beach neighborhood is slated for an affordable housing project for seniors — shown in this rendering — designed by the Los Angeles-headquartered architecture firm Brooks + Scarpa.
An affordable housing project is coming to Miami Beach’s Normandy Isles Historic District, catering exclusively to seniors.
The pinkish-and-white-themed Heron, a 4-story development, is slated for 1158 Marseille Drive, according to an application submitted to the City of Miami Beach Design Review Board by the Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach. The housing authority is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-designated organization. The project would replace an existing single-story building with four occupied rental units.
Named after the wetlands wading bird with an S-shaped neck, the Heron would deliver 20 affordable housing studios, ranging from 400 square feet to about 440 square feet, for seniors aged 62 years or over with special needs. The building would also house a laundry room, communal office space, community room and rooftop terrace. Nature abounds in the plans for the Heron with a variety of plants, including Florida coonties, the only host for larvae of the Atala butterflies.
Units will rent for $443 per month to $949 per month, depending on the renter’s income. Residents must earn at or below 60% of the Area Median Income, or $37,980 per year for a single-person, and $43,440 for a two-person household.
The Miami Beach Design Review Board is expected to review the application in September. Having submitted plans in late May, the housing authority requests approval to demolish the existing apartment rental building.
“The lack of affordable housing for elderly persons with special needs has been forcing them to seek a home outside our community or become institutionalized,” said Michael O’Hara, the director of the Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach. “This is due in part to the popularity of Miami Beach for U.S. and international residents, and the great demand for high-cost housing and skyrocketing real estate prices. The Heron will offer an opportunity for special needs elderly to afford a stable home environment in a community already familiar to them.”
The Florida Housing Finance Corporation and Miami-Dade County are funding the $5 million project.
Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023 and end by mid-2024. Public notices will be published in the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, Miami Times and the HACMB website closer to the completion time and a waitlist will be launched. O’Hara said residents will be selected by a random drawing.
The Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach acquired the Gilbert Fein-designed building in 2014 for $575,000. Recognized as a master of Post World War II modern style architecture in Miami Beach, Fein designed several buildings in Miami since the late 1940s. In 2003, the city designated February 5, 2003, as Gilbert M. Fein, A.I.A., Day. Some of his buildings are deemed historic, including a two-story multifamily building at 7416 Byron Ave. O’Hara said the one along Marseille Drive sits under four feet of base flood elevation.
“We took an approach where we would bring a high-quality affordable housing project that fit into the neighborhood and addressed sea level rise,” he said. “The project would be around for 50-plus years.”
The Heron is the second project in the Normandy Isles and larger North Beach area for the housing authority. It received approval for its first affordable housing project in the area this summer, a 22-unit workforce housing building adjacent to the Heron at 1144 Marseille Drive. Thus far, the housing authority developed, completed and manages six affordable housing communities in South Beach.
Other affordable housing options for seniors are in the pipeline across Miami-Dade County, including in Allapattah and Overtown.
