Flo development will add 116 new units, with 23 designated for workforce housing in Delray

Jasmine Fernández, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read
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Rendering of the Flo project, a Delray Beach multi-family development, pitched by The Rochemont Group.
Rendering of the Flo project, a Delray Beach multi-family development, pitched by The Rochemont Group.

DELRAY BEACH — Critical workforce housing is on the way to Delray Beach.

The project, called Flo, will fill a currently empty 4.8-acre parcel of land on the northwest corner of West Atlantic Avenue and Military Trail. The new multi-family development will be located behind a large shopping center already occupying that corner.

Local real estate developers Pierre and Richard Rochemont of the Rochemont Group in Delray Beach are behind the project.

“My clients were looking for development opportunities and came across this unique piece of land,” Government Law Group’s Neil Schiller, who represents the Rochemonts, said.

It’s one of the father-son duo’s first projects in Delray Beach. And it will bring the city 116 new units, with 23 of those designated for workforce housing.

To qualify for the workforce units, Schiller said, applicants must have an annual income between up to 50% of the area’s median income and no more than 120%. That means households making more than $116,880 per year will not qualify for the workforce units.

Workforce housing is a term housing officials use to differentiate it from affordable housing geared toward low-income families. Generally, workforce housing is aimed at middle-class workers, such as teachers or police officers.

Last year in Palm Beach County, the annual median income was $98,300, according to the West Palm Beach Housing Authority.

All other units of the Flo project will be market-rate rentals. Their cost has not yet been decided.

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Rendering of the Flo project, a Delray Beach multi-family development, pitched by The Rochemont Group.
Rendering of the Flo project, a Delray Beach multi-family development, pitched by The Rochemont Group.

To apply for the workforce units once the Flo project enters development, qualifying applicants can follow the city’s Neighborhood Services Division. It’s a branch of the city that serves the housing needs of Delray’s workforce, publicizing housing projects and keeping an interactive map on its site.

Flo’s units will range from one to three bedrooms. Some amenities the project will offer include a pool area, fitness room, Pilates studio, game room, centralized mail room, gym and half basketball court.

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The project’s developers, Schiller said, are in the process of responding to city staff’s comments after presenting to the city’s Planning and Zoning Board and commissioners multiple times late last year. It will likely take a few more weeks before they are able to present to Delray’s Planning and Zoning Board again.

But the hope, Schiller said, is to begin construction by the end of this year.

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: Critical workforce housing project Flo underway in Delray Beach