The Residences at Equality Park in Wilton Manors will offer permanent affordable housing and supportive services.
Carrfour Supportive Housing has broke ground on The Residences at Equality Park, an affordable housing alternative designed specifically for senior LGBTQ+ community members.
Located in Wilton Manors, Fla., just north of Fort Lauderdale, the property will furnish permanent affordable housing plus supportive services for low-income senior adults with disabling conditions.
“This project will help to address the affordable housing needs of the residents of the city of Wilton Manors and the surrounding areas in Broward County,” Carrfour Supportive Housing President & CEO Stephanie Berman told Multi-Housing News.
“In working with our partners at The Pride Center, we identified housing as a challenge, especially for gay seniors with disabilities. Data shows that senior LGBTQ adults, in particular, face a variety of unique challenges in securing housing with high rates of discrimination and bias, and sometimes even hostile treatment from landlords as well as fellow tenants. While residents aren’t required to be gay to live here, they must be income- and age-eligible only. And because the building is on the Pride Center campus, where services and activities are geared toward the gay community, we feel that the building will attract LGBTQ applicants.”
The project includes low-income housing tax credits from Florida Housing Finance Corp. secured by Carrfour, Berman added.
PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING
The four-story Residences at Equality Park will be situated at 2040 North Dixie Highway. A total of 48 apartments extending from studios to two-bedroom units will be offered. All but 14 of the units will serve as permanent supportive housing for low-income seniors ages 55 and older with disabling conditions whose continuing residency in housing requires on-site supportive services. Residents earning 60 percent or less of Broward County Area Median Income (AMI), equivalent to about $36,400 per year for single households, will be eligible for 43 of the units.
The remaining five units will be available to those earning 33 percent or less of AMI. Monthly rents will extend from about $350 to $1,029.
Carrfour will serve as the developer, operator and service coordinator at The Residences at Equality Park. The Pride Center will offer innovative services, including support groups, cultural events, recreational opportunities and the annual Active Aging Health Expo. The Residences at Equality Park is slated for completion next year.
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