JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sulzbacher just received the money it needs to build a $37 million affordable apartment complex in Jacksonville’s Brentwood neighborhood.
The agency said it will feature 100 units tailored toward formerly homeless men and workers struggling to afford a home, specifically. It’s set to be finished in about 12-18 months from now and include a job center and health center that will be completed sometime in 2027.
“The number one issue for our community is affordable housing,” said Cindy Funkhouser, Sulzbacher’s CEO.
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The news of the affordable housing development, which will be built off Golfair Boulevard near I-95, will be released two days after Action News Jax told you about a University of North Florida poll saying, among the registered Duval County voters who took part, housing costs are the top problem in Jacksonville.
Action News Jax found recent research from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors saying not only did the average cost of a single-family home rise from March to April, but more families making average incomes were unable to afford housing costs in Duval County during the same time.
It’s a different group than the Sulzbacher project is hoping to help, but we’re told there are other projects to help make homes more affordable for everyone living in the county.
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“Housing costs are not is not a political issue. It’s a human rights issue,” said Joshua Hicks, affordable housing director for the city of Jacksonville, “Everybody in Jacksonville needs housing that they can afford.”
Hicks told Action News Jax about 5,000 affordable homes are being worked on right now across the county and another 1,000 have been identified as possible affordable homes for those struggling to get by.
The city said the focus is to not only help those making a wide range of incomes afford housing costs, but especially those on the lower end of the income spectrum.
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“The crisis is on the affordability level. We don’t have enough units to make up the gap of the demand,” Hicks said.
At this time, the city is working on other affordable housing projects it cannot share with Action News Jax, but ultimately wants to add more to the raw number of affordable homes available for those living and working in the county.
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