JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Is what’s called “affordable housing” actually affordable?
A new study from the Florida Policy Institute, a nonprofit, finds most housing meant for Jacksonville’s workforce is not affordable for many households.
First Coast News spoke with the analyst who did the study. The Florida legislature has allocated millions for affordable housing. The analyst compared workforce housing prices to the salaries of people like educators and firefighters. She found that if it's more than a one to two-person household, they probably can't afford it.
“Affordable housing is supposed to be affordable, but it’s not affordable,” said Regina Gee, a Jacksonville mother.
Much like the game of Uno, Gee played with her five children Thursday, saying finding affordable housing can also be a game of chance.
"I was even doing overtime 'cause I was a daycare director, so it was hard," Gee said. "It was extremely hard."
Affordable housing is what Cicely Hodges, housing and community policy analyst with Florida Policy Institute, has been studying since the Florida legislature passed the Live Local Act last year. It puts $700 million towards affordable housing programs across the state.
Hodges found for a Jacksonville teacher, firefighter, law enforcement officer or EMT with two kids, what’s considered workforce housing under a Florida statute is not affordable.
“All of them as you go, it just gets increasingly more unaffordable the more people that one person who’s the main breadwinner has to take care of,” Hodges told First Coast News.
Ensuring affordable housing is actually affordable is an issue that's top of mind for Erick Saks who just broke ground on his nonprofit, Operation Lifeline Inc.’s affordable housing subdivision in Clay County in September.
"One went to, as I said, this young couple as a starter home that is absolutely in the workforce, the local workforce," Saks said about a home. "We have some veterans that we’re working with of course, we also have some county workers. Basically, it is intended for workforce. We do also have some folks that are more on the elderly side."
Saks called his organization a “unicorn” as a nonprofit developer and said every Florida county faces different affordable housing challenges. But, Gee is optimistic that in Jacksonville, the topic of affordable housing is front and center.
“2024 is not done yet," she said.
On Wednesday, Jacksonville leaders in affordable housing came together for a panel discussion. They said they’re keeping up the momentum on the topic so the city prioritizes it.