New Sanford complex offers one-bedroom apartments for $500 a month
Sanford leaders joined public housing officials on Thursday to mark the opening of Somerset Landings, a much-needed 84-unit apartment complex for low-income residents in the historic Goldsboro community.
“This is a blessing for me,” said Debbie Padgett quietly while holding back tears. The Sanford retiree in her mid-60s moved into a two-bedroom apartment at Somerset roughly two weeks ago.
For the past two years, Padgett has shuttled between motels and the streets as she struggled to find an affordable, stable place to live.
“It has been very difficult,” she said. “I’ve just been tired of living in and out of motels. So I’m very fortunate now.”
The new complex with modern stone architecture off Halstead Lane towers over the site of the old Monroe Landings, a public-housing project that was razed in 2013 because of leaking roofs, water damage, faulty air conditioners, rat infestations and mold.
Appliances were scarce, as many residents resorted to cooking meals on camping stoves and stored food in ice chests, while sweltering without air conditioning on summer nights.
Monroe Landings was among six public-housing complexes that were condemned and demolished about a decade ago because of uninhabitable conditions caused by years of neglect from the Sanford Housing Authority. Five of those complexes were in Goldsboro, a historic Black community just west of U.S. Highway 17-92 founded by laborers more than 120 years ago.
Since then, the Sanford Housing Authority has come under the oversight of the Orlando Housing Authority. And the agency has started building and opening affordable-housing complexes using a combination of federal and state dollars.
Developed by Wendover Housing Partners, the $16-million Somerset Landings is the third new affordable housing complex to replace the old public housing projects. It was primarily paid for with federal, state and local funds.
To be eligible, residents of any age at Somerset must earn between 35% and 60% of the area’s median household income of just under $60,000. Rent is based on income levels; on average, it’s about $500 for a one-bedroom apartment.
Inside a typical unit, the kitchen has an island with a sink and cutting-board countertops, along with a new stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher. Doors open to reveal a washer and dryer. Another door leads to a spacious pantry. The bathrooms have walk-in showers.
On Thursday, the pleasing smell of fresh paint and new floors lingered throughout the family, kitchen and bedrooms. The complex offers exercise rooms, a community center, reading rooms on each floor, and a daycare center.
As of Thursday, 22 of the apartments are occupied. Housing officials said they are currently screening residents for the remaining units.
“We all know what a struggle is to find affordable housing in this area,” said Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff. “And this is not anything like what used to be here.”
Among those attending Thursday’s event was Richard Monocchio, a deputy assistant director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington D.C.
“There is a supply problem when it comes to affordable housing [in the United States],” he said. “We have to build, build more. In fact, 2 million more across the country.”
Today the median rent in the Central Florida area within Kissimmee, Orlando and Sanford — considered one of the toughest areas in the country to find affordable housing — is about $2,127 a month, a 4.4% increase from two years ago, according to rent.com. That means a worker earning $11 an hour would have to work 92 hours a week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Leatha Jones — who moved into Somerset about a week ago — is one of the fortunate ones. The retiree now has a stable place to live that’s a short distance from grocery stores, shops and downtown Sanford.
“I’m very happy,” she said. “The place I was living in before was falling apart. I didn’t have a dishwasher. I had to buy my own stove and refrigerator. The landlord kept raising the rent.”
