After 15 years of planning, an affordable housing complex comes to fruition in Delray Beach
DELRAY BEACH — It took 15 years to get the project off the ground. But this month, Island Cove, Delray Beach's latest affordable housing community was officially unveiled.
Built on a once-vacant lot originally zoned for townhomes at 900 S.W. 12th Ave., Island Cove brings 60 new apartments to the city. Forty of those are two-bedroom, two-bathroom units and 20 are three-bedroom, two-bathroom units.
“This was a project that we needed to build,” President and CEO of the Delray Beach Housing Authority Shirley Erazo said to a crowd of a few dozen people at the project’s Jan. 17 ribbon cutting. “We built a blueprint here, folks, of what is possible when all when we all come together and put aside our differences.”
Initially, 54 townhomes were to be built on the 3-acre site. Each would have sold for as much as $300,000. But, in light of the pandemic, the city’s housing authority shifted to convert the project into affordable rental units.
Leasing for the properties started in the summer of 2023. Within months, all 60 units were filled.
Marilyn Simpkins, 63, like many other residents, moved in last fall.
“They’ve been easy,” Simpkins said of the last few months in her new home. “There’s no stress about paying.”
Previously, Simpkins lived in West Palm Beach, where she was paying $1,700 per month. But, disabled and caring for her son who is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, Simpkins could not comfortably afford that rate.
Now, Simpkins’ monthly rent is $535.
Current rental rates for the Island Cove Apartments begin at $1,449 for a two-bedroom unit and $1,674 for a three-bedroom unit. Those rates are subject to change depending on a tenant’s income, though.
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“The Delray Housing Group recognized our community's growing need for affordable rental units and took action,” said Mayor Shelly Petrolia, who once served on the housing board.
According to the 2021 U.S. census, 83% of the city’s households making less than $35,000 a year spend more than half of their income on rent.
“That's no surprise at $35,000,” Petrolia said. “Considering inflation and that rental rates have increased since the census study, that gap between the income and rising housing costs continues to grow at an alarming rate.”
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The apartments at Island Cove are reserved for households making 30% to 80%, or less, of the area’s median income. That number was $98,300 in 2023, per the West Palm Beach Housing Authority.
The cost of Island Cove was approximately $30 million, Erazo said. The Delray Beach Housing Authority partnered with the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, the CRA, and real estate development firm Smith & Henzy Group to complete the project.
In 2020, the CRA voted to provide a local government contribution of $1 million for the apartments, the authority’s board chair Adam Frankel said. The grant assisted with construction and infrastructure costs.
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The property consists of five, two-story buildings with 12 units each. Amenities include an outdoor courtyard, community clubhouse, pool, gym and children’s playground. Also available to residents are programs designed to help with adult literacy, employment and homeownership.
“We want this momentum to go to keep going,” Erazo said. “Palm Beach County needs affordable housing. We need to be the catalyst to build affordable housing.”
Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Delray Beach affordable housing complex Island Cove is unveiled
