St. Augustine to study building affordable housing at three city-owned sites

St. Augustine commissioners voted unanimously this week to hire a consultant to study the feasibility of using city-owned land for affordable housing.

The same day, commissioners decided not to take action on a proposal to build a performing arts center on one of those properties, which is adjacent to State Road 312 near Mizell Road.

St. Augustine officials used affordable and workforce housing interchangeably during the discussion.

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The lack of affordable housing in St. Johns County has become a regular topic of concern for public officials as the population grows and housing and rental prices climb.

To help, the city is considering developing affordable housing on three pieces of land:

• 450 N. Holmes Blvd. The site is about 82 acres with about 26 acres of ponds. It's being used as a storage site for the city utilities department.

• 865 Fish Island Road. The site is about 31 acres south of Antigua with access to Mizell Road. Includes a wastewater treatment facility that is not in service. It is a former landfill.

• 800 Plantation Island Drive S. The site is more than 2 acres and includes part of a former landfill. It is on the other side of State Road 312 from the Fish Island Road site.

Options include, among other things, the city building the apartments through financing and managing the housing; the city allowing a private developer to build and manage the housing; and the city creating a residential density bonus incentive for building affordable housing.

The commission also voted unanimously to have city staff look at the zoning code and make proposals, such as a density bonus, that would help attract affordable housing development.

The county relies heavily on tourism for its economy, and finding places for the labor force to live is a key issue. The cost of both buying a home and renting are a challenge, officials said.

Victor Raymos, CEO of the St. Augustine and St. Johns County Board of Realtors, said local employers are having a hard time hiring because employees can't afford to live in St. Johns County. Some employees are driving from neighboring counties, such as Putnam County.

In 2021, the average monthly rent was $1,730 in St. Johns County, he said.

Bill Lazar, executive director at the St. Johns Housing Partnership, said the lack of affordable housing in St. Johns County has been a growing problem.

"We've got people coming to us now that work here … they've been prequalified for $300,000, and they can't get a builder to sign a contract with them," Lazar said. "And that's simply because that builder says, 'I can build something. I can sell it for more, and I can sell it faster than waiting for your bank to pay me.'"

As of Wednesday, the city had not advertised for a consultant and had not determined a budget for the feasibility study, according to city spokeswoman Melissa Wissel.

EpiCentre Alliance proposed arts center

St. Augustine commissioners voiced concerns about a proposal to build a performing arts center at the 865 Fish Island Road property. They did not take action on the proposal on Monday.

Commissioner Barbara Blonder made a motion to drop consideration of putting the center on the land or other city land until after "strategic evaluation of the best uses for those properties." But the motion failed. While she said she supported the art center concept, she did not approve of putting it on that site.

"I feel we need to put this location to bed so that the EpiCentre Alliance could refocus their energies toward a more suitable location so that they can make this dream a reality," she said.

Mayor Tracy Upchurch said with the city looking into developing affordable housing on the site, he wasn't prepared to take any further action on the arts center proposal.

The nonprofit group behind the idea, the St. Augustine EpiCentre Alliance, is exploring multiple properties but only discussed the Fish Island Road property.

The nonprofit formed from a group of arts and culture leaders who organized for the purpose of building a performing arts center in St. Johns County.

As St. Johns County continues to grow, there is more demand for performing arts space and less availability of existing properties, said Albert Syeles, president of the St. Augustine EpiCentre Alliance.

Officials would like the center to include, among other thing auditorium and theater space; a café; gallery and museum space; a rooftop indoor-outdoor restaurant and jazz club; and conferences and office space.

Nearby residents expressed concerns, such as traffic congestion and impacts to wildlife.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine looks at using city-owned land for affordable housing