THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AND THE HOUSING FINANCE AND COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the Board’s value: “Offering sustainable, compatible, innovative housing options for all income-levels, including integrated, permanent supportive housing” and the corresponding goal of "Increase the availability of affordable housing of all types, countywide, in every community using effective, uniform criteria, policies and strategies.”
The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) Program is a new program administered by the Housing Finance and Community Redevelopment Division (HFCRD) that provides funding as an incentive to create partnerships that produce and/or preserve affordable dwelling units. The program was designed to serve very low, low and moderate-income families.
On September 26, 2017, the Board approved the Fiscal Year 2018 budget which included allocating $5,000,000 (Exhibit 1), to increase the construction and/or preservation of affordable housing units countywide.
On April 6, 2018, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued seeking proposals from qualified and responsive firms who can demonstrate the requisite knowledge, experience, technical expertise, organizational and financial capacity to perform the services specified in the RFP, “to construct and/or preserve at a minimum 70 affordable multi-family housing units countywide".
On May 4, 2018, the HFCRD received five proposals. All proposals were accepted and determined to be responsive to the RFP.
On May 11, 2018, an Evaluation Committee (EC) meeting was held to score and rank the firms (Exhibit 2). The selected firm, Cornerstone Group Partners, LLC. was the first ranked firm. Once approved by the Board, the first ranked firm will execute an agreement with the County to finance and construct the units. The gap financing will serve as leverage for the selected firm to use Broward County Housing Finance Authority bonds in addition to other required sources of funding to finance the construction of the project. The $5,000,000 AHF loan will be in the form of zero interest rate loan for a term of a minimum of 30 years, with a 30 year affordable housing land use restriction, payable upon sale or refinancing or the end of the term, whichever occurs first.
The Developer will be responsible for all of the following Project elements: financing, design, obtaining all required development approvals and permits, construction, operation and maintenance of the proposed project. The project will include 99 new affordable housing units to serve very low, low and moderate-income individual and families. The location of the project is the northwest corner of N. W. 9th Street and Dr. B.J. McCormick Avenue in the City of Pompano Beach.
The Developer has agreed that contractor and vendor awards to CBEs are crucial to the achievement of County's CBE participation objectives. Although this Proposal does not have assigned CBE goals, the Developer agrees that wherever possible, every effort will be made to utilize the services of Broward County-certified CBE firms and Developer/Sponsor shall include this provision in any subcontract it enters into pursuant to this Agreement.
The Evaluation Committee members and each member's ranking of each of the five proposers is attached as (Exhibit 2). A summary of each of the five project proposals is included as (Exhibit 3).
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