Big man on campus: NBA star Alonzo Mourning visits Ocala to celebrate affordable housing

Dignitaries and residents gathered Thursday for a grand opening celebration at Oak Valley, a 96-unit, $19 million garden-style apartment complex offering qualified seniors safe and affordable housing with amenities from a media center to pickleball courts.

Oak Valley's manager, Brenda Boyd, said units became available in April and the building filled fast.

"We were fully occupied by May 3," Boyd said. The complex is centrally located at 805 NE 28th St., Ocala, convenient to shopping, banking and other services.

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The project is a joint venture between Coconut Grove-based Housing Trust Group (HTG) and AM Affordable Housing, a nonprofit founded by former Miami Heat basketball player and 2014 Hall of Fame inductee Alonzo Mourning, who was on hand for the event.

Alonzo Mourning: The goal is to instill ‘hope in the community’

Mourning, standing head and shoulders above the group, said the waiting list for units reflects the need for affordable housing for seniors and families. He said people face challenges finding suitable housing, and the pandemic "underscored the need."

"Affordable housing in general (is needed). We want to create an environment, especially for seniors, near shopping and churches, where they feel safe and secure," Mourning said before the opening celebration.

Mourning said the collaboration represents "heartfelt work" that instills "hope in the community.”

Mourning said affordable housing provides "structurally and mechanically" safe housing, creates jobs, and ensures that residents are "not homeless" but rather have "ownership and pride."

Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn, City Council President Pro-Tem James Hilty and council member Kristen Dreyer were among those at the event.

An HTG official described the city as "instrumental" in getting the complex built.

Guinn called the complex "much needed" and said discussion is underway about a second complex adjacent to Oak Valley.

HTG has developed affordable housing communities in Tallahassee, Eustis, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. HTG and AM Affordable Housing have partnered on four properties including the 84-unit Courtside Apartments in the Overtown area of Miami.

The Overtown location, which provides affordable housing for families, has garnered multiple awards and was lauded in 2018 by HUD.

Matthew Rieger, president and CEO of HTG, said in an interview prior to the ribbon cutting that the City of Ocala was "wonderful to work with."

Rieger said affordable housing benefits not only the residents but the entire community, as it allows residents to have resources to support local businesses.

"(Oak Valley) has a state-of-the-art kitchen, (swimming) pool...billiards and pickleball courts," Rieger said.

Rieger spoke of the increasing senior population and the need for affordable housing.

"(We should) shout from the rooftops about the need for affordable housing," Rieger said.

Trey Price, director of Florida Housing Financing Corp., spoke at the opening. Florida Housing was set up by the Florida Legislature 40 years ago to "assist in

providing a range of affordable housing opportunities," and the agency provides programs for developers such as tax reductions for low- and very low-income rental housing.

All about the Oak Valley complex

The Oak Valley complex includes 66 one-bedroom/one-bath units and 30 two-bedroom/ two-bath apartments.

The grounds include a catering kitchen, large swimming pool, theater room, multi-sports courts, fitness center, package delivery room and more, according to on-site literature.

A tour of a one-bedroom unit found a happy resident with a cat and small dog very pleased with the accommodations, which include a stack-on washer and dryer.

Units at the complex are available to people 62 and older who are income qualified.

According to an HTG press release, the applicant's income must be between 40% and 60% of the area median income.

The monthly rents at Oak Valley range from $369 to $730 for qualified residents.

Some veterans have benefited from Oak Valley

The complex is a life changer for about 30 veterans who have secured housing in Oak Valley through the HUD-VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing- hud.gov) program, thanks to the local efforts of Barabra Shaw with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Vietnam War veteran Willie Burch, 69, and his wife, Nichole, were homeless and living unsheltered but now have a happy home at Oak Valley.

"We love it. They take care of you; it’s beautiful," said Willie Burch, a former U.S. Air Force radar operator who served from 1973 to 1976. Nichole Burch likes the health benefits from using the fitness center.

Nelson Perez, who served in the U. S Army from 1976 to 1980 as an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) driver, has a home at Oak Valley.  He had been staying in hotels or with family.

Resident Al Sermon moved into the complex in April. He likes to walk the grounds. Sermon is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by President Barack Obama for his ministerial outreach work in the Atlanta area.

Several residents spoke at the celebration, including John Souza Jr., 63, and Roxanne Wells.

Souza enjoys the healthy lifestyle at the complex.

Wells said she did not have a home in her name and her rent had "skyrocketed." Then she applied and was accepted at Oak Valley.

"I love it," she said. "God blessed me with safe and secure (housing) and friends."

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: NBA's Alonzo Mourning brings more affordable housing to Ocala, Florida