Photo courtesy of the City of Fort Lauderdale

By David L. Snelling

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The City of Fort Lauderdale broke ground on a $42 million mixed-use project for affordable housing and commercial, assisting residents who are still struggling to find places to live.

The Aldridge and the Laramore along the historic Sistrunk corridor is a twin building project with 72 rental apartments and street-level retail spaces at 1204 Sistrunk Boulevard

According to the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency, the Sistrunk Apartments project will feature two five-story buildings, each with 36 units, plus ground-floor commercial space geared toward small, neighborhood-serving businesses.

CRA project materials put the development at roughly $42 million and say that long-term affordability restrictions will be included in the deal to ensure rents stay below market levels over time.

The project is expected to be completed sometime in 2027.

City officials said the project is affordable.

Residential units are expected to rent for about $1,100 a month for one-bedroom apartments at The Aldridge and The Laramore, and $1,350 for two-bedroom apartments.

The city says rents will be capped at 30 percent of a household’s gross income, with that cap including utilities.

According to Rentometer, an online service that provides rental price estimates and comparisons to help landlords, property managers, and investors set competitive rents, the average rate for a one-bedroom apartment in Broward County is $2,024, $2,634 for two bedrooms and $3,465 for three bedrooms.

The highest rent rate for a two-bedroom in Broward County is $4,500 per month.

City and CRA officials say they plan to keep up community outreach while crews are on site, monitor the affordability covenants and continue to host hiring and vendor events as work progresses.

Advocates and neighbors, meanwhile, say they will be watching the leases, the fine print on affordability terms and any future incentive packages closely to see whether these new units actually help longtime families and small businesses stay put in Sistrunk, or simply mark the next phase of a corridor in transition.

Fort Lauderdale officials are stepping up to address the affordable housing shortage which has gripped Florida, as thousands of residents remain homeless and the state has seen a large exodus in the past two years.

According to a study conducted by the University of Florida, Florida is not building enough affordable units and it continues to experience a shortage despite ongoing construction of single-family and multifamily units.

The median single-family home price in early 2024 was $411,600, and median rent reached $1,555, with prices varying widely between rural areas and expensive coastal communities

Roughly 883,863 renter households earning below 60 percent of the area median income pay more than 40 percent of their income on rent, highlighting severe cost burdens.

The Florida Housing Coalition reports that at least 2.4 million families spend over 30 percent of their income on housing, with 1.3 million low-income households spending at least half of their income just to maintain a home.

Soaring gas, oil and food prices add to the cost of living burden.