Jacksonville’s progress in affordable housing: is it enough?

Jacksonville advocate applauds new affordable housing bill; critics decry doing away with rent control

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – What is affordable when it comes to housing? The back log of people that need a place to live is growing and while Jacksonville is working on solutions --we want to know-- is the progress meeting the need?

Affordable housing is a term with a wide range of meanings from workforce, low-income and subsidized. According to the First Coast Apartment Association, there are 5,705 homes needed in our area.

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In Duval County, Jacksonville Housing has options but specifically Project Based Voucher pays for most of your housing and has these properties listed: Brentwood Lake Apartments, Caroline Arms, Cathedral Townhouse Apartments, Oak Hammock Apartments--Jacksonville and Senior Citizen Village. There are multi-family, senior and disabled units for about 15-20 properties.

RELATED: Jacksonville appoints special committee to help homelessness, affordable housing | How the Deegan Administration says it plans to address the affordable housing crisis in Jacksonville

Housing is being built, but the price range to own or rent will vary. When searching for an apartment for $800 a month, we were only able to find two properties in Duval County. When we searched for $900 a month, we found about 20 properties.

Johnson Commons is being built as townhomes in LaVilla with units for sale starting at around $299,000. One street over are the Lofts in LaVilla. These are apartment homes for restricted income residents, ranging from $21,000-$65,000 a year in salary.

In addition to housing for people living on a fixed income or a tight budget, the city is also working to create housing for the homeless.


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