Sawgrass Ridge development set to bring more affordable housing in growing Parrish

The Sawgrass Ridge project planned north of Moccasin Wallow Road would bring more affordable housing to Manatee County, according to paperwork filed with Manatee County Development Services.

“At the present time, plans are for a minimum of 25% of this project to be affordable housing. With 1,103 units in the proposed project, a minimum of 275 would be affordable at this point in the planning process,” Bill Logan, the county’s information outreach manager, said in an email.

“That figure could change before the plans come back before the planning commission/Board of County Commission for any approval(s),” Logan said.

The property owner, McClure Properties, Ltd., has a contract to sell the vacant land to KC Sawgrasss LLC, which lists Casto Net Lease Properties, LLC and The Kolter Group LLC of Tampa as managers.

McClure Properties is requesting a rezoning of the property along with approval of a general development plan.

Due to the housing crisis, Manatee County Government offers several incentives to affordable housing developers, including rapid response/fast tracking, a density bonus and expedited permitting.

The rezoning for a mixed-use development is requested for two parcels, one of 165.7 acres and the other of 145 acres at 10500 Carter Road.

The proposed development schedule would begin in the summer of 2024 and end in 2025. Sawgrass Ridge would be developed to the east of Del Webb’s BayView community.

Parrish and the area between Moccasin Wallow Road and Buckeye Road has become one of Manatee County’s fastest developing areas, rapidly transforming farmland into residential areas.

Affordable housing is meant to provide a place to live that costs no more than 30% of a resident’s income for rent or mortgage payments. Those households may be eligible for subsidized housing.

In Southwest Florida, there are 13 prospective renters for every vacant apartment, and units stay vacant for an average of only 34 days, the Bradenton Herald has previously reported.

Similarly, the cost of existing single-family houses, along with high insurance and interest rates, has pushed home ownership out of reach of many prospective first-time buyers.

The housing crisis has helped spur the development of more affordable and workforce housing in Manatee County.

Affordable housing in the works

As previously reported by the Bradenton Herald:

▪ Bradenton Project LLC of Summerville, S.C., plan to build a 96-unit apartment complex at 2008 53rd Ave. E. in Oneco. The project, which would include four buildings with 24 units each, received affordable/workforce housing eligibility on June 23.

▪ A 606-unit affordable housing apartment complex, named Amara, is proposed for a 20-acre parcel at 3308 Lena Road. Seeking approvals is WB Property Group, an owner-developer of real estate headquartered in New York City.

▪ A total of 572 units of multi-family affordable housing are planned for 4505 12th St. Ct. E., including 301 Flats with 324 units of family housing and The Savoy at 301 with 248 units of senior housing. The developer is Oneco 51 Family Gp LLC of Santa Monica, Calif.

▪ Whitfield Estates LLC is seeking to build 192 one- and two-bedroom units on 10 acres in the 7200 block of 12th Street East.

▪ The Nine20 Manatee apartments, planned for 137 units, with rents ranging from about $1,300 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,600 for a two-bedroom unit, are under construction at 920 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

▪ The three-story Oneco Living Apartments is planned for 94 rental units on 5.3 acres of vacant land just north of State Road 70. The majority of the units will be rented at market rate, but 24 of those apartments in the 5100 block of 18th Street Court East will be designated affordable housing.

▪ Hope Village, dedicated to keeping at-risk parents housed and on the path to economic independence, is planned by Help to Home, a local nonprofit organization and homeless resource group. Envisioned are at least 53 apartment units on 4.8 acres at 1825 30th Ave. W. in Bradenton.

▪ Housing Trust Group plans to build a five-story, 120-unit complex for seniors on the northwest corner of Ninth Street West and 23rd Avenue West in Bradenton.

▪ The Met, a $31 million workforce housing project, will include 199 units of eco-friendly apartments on a three-acre site at 1405 14th St., Bradenton.

▪ A workforce housing community of about 400 units is being pursued by a partnership of local businesses, One Stop Housing and the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. A location and timeline have not been announced.

▪ The Mitchell at Palmetto, an 183-unit apartment complex with at least 25% of units classified as affordable, is planned for 9025 U.S. 41 N., Palmetto. The apartments would be built on a 9.16-acre triangular parcel between Bayshore Road, 89th Street East and U.S. 41.

▪ Riverview6, an 80-unit affordable housing complex near downtown Bradenton, is also in the works and set to open in summer of 2024.

Recently completed projects

▪ Housing Trust Group has opened the 90-unit Addison apartments, 702 Sixth Ave. E., Bradenton, and the 96-unit Oaks at Lakeside complex, 5260 34th Street Cir. E., Bradenton.

▪ The Sandpiper Place Apartments, 4605 26th St. W., Bradenton, opened Feb. 15, 2022, with all 92 units rented, and a waiting list of more than 800 people.