Pompano Beach senior rental project lands $28M in construction loans, as affordable apartments defy financing slump 

A low-income apartment project for senior residents in Pompano Beach landed a $27.5 million construction loan package, as affordable housing remains immune to the multifamily financing slump. 

The Housing Authority of Pompano Beach and Jacksonville-based apartment developer Vestcor are building the 100-unit Provident Place with a pair of three-story buildings at 1050 Northwest 18th Drive, according to records. The Housing Finance Authority of Broward County provided a $21 million loan from bonds. Broward County provided a $3.5 million loan, and the Pompano Beach Housing Authority issued a $3 million loan, records show. 

The project would rise on a 4.4-acre site immediately west of the housing authority’s existing 174-unit affordable rental complex. Provident Place would offer 50 one-bedroom units and 50 two-bedroom units, records show. 

The Housing Finance Authority of Pompano Beach, a public agency, is led by Executive Director Lennard Robinson and seven commissioners appointed by the city’s mayor. Vestcor is led by founder John Rood and President Steve Moore. 

The financing package comes amid a nationwide multifamily financing slump due to tighter bank lending and elevated interest rates. Affordable housing generally resists economic headwinds, as projects are largely bankrolled with government financing that comes at lower interest rates than private debt. 

Affordable housing also promises to be a boon in South Florida, where cost-burdened residents for years have struggled to afford apartment rents. An influx of out-of-state residents exacerbated the issue by creating unprecedented apartment demand and prompting record rent hikes. Although the in-migration and rate increases have calmed, it’s not expected that South Florida rents would drop to pre-pandemic levels. 

While affordable housing developers generally use public organizations’ tax-exempt bonds and the state’s low-income housing tax credits program, the Live Local Act is another tool. The state law, approved last year and tweaked this year, isn’t a financing mechanism, but allows developers massive tax breaks and wiggle room on municipal zoning restrictions in exchange for including affordable and workforce units in their projects. 

In Fort Lauderdale, Moderno Development Group and 75Invest Group last month proposed the 27-story, 290-unit 500 Art Lofts apartment building at 501 Southwest Second Avenue. The Live Local Act project will include 71 workforce units. 

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