Even as Hollywood builds more apartments downtown, affordability remains a concern

The Hollywood Boulevard corridor is sprawling with development of new apartment buildings, though many will have luxury units that would be out of reach for typical renters in a city where below-market apartments are sorely needed.

There’s the forthcoming Soleste Hollywood Blvd, which will have 324 luxury rental units and businesses on the first floor. Off of Van Buren Street, there will soon be a commercial/residential development, Soleste Hollywood Village, with luxury apartments across from a city parking garage.

Up a few blocks is the redevelopment of the Hollywood Bread Building near Young Circle and U.S. 1, slated to have 361 luxury rental units.

The newer, more expensive rentals have been a concern for residents for some time in a city that is only set to grow as it enters its 100th year. Moreso, the changes pose a question that’s been the crux of the political conversation this election cycle: to build or not to build — and if so, where?

All told, there will about 5,600 residential units in the city’s downtown in the next few years. Prices for the incoming luxury units have not been listed publicly, but one completed luxury apartment complex, 1818 Park, has a one-bedroom apartment listed at $2,704.

The issue of affordability, development and housing was prevalent at a recent mayoral and City Commission candidate forum. Candidates were asked about Hollywood’s future, but much of the conversation focused on the development and affordability and housing strain in the city.

“There’s a huge gap” between residents’ median income and the median sales price of a home in Hollywood, Richard Walker , a candidate for the District 2 commission seat, said at the Sept. 24 forum. The median income for the city is about $62,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, while the median sales price of homes in the city is more than $466,000, according to Zillow .

“That means that there are a lot of people in the city of Hollywood that work relentlessly and will never own a home here cause they’re being priced out.”

Building out downtown

The city’s downtown enclave is slowly but surely being built out with more housing units. But as Hollywood increases its housing stock , there is still a matter of addressing affordability.

University Station, a mixed-income development at 421 North 21st St., is one project that will add more affordable housing stock, containing 216 affordable housing units when it opens in 2025. Those units are reserved for people making between 22% and 80% of the area median income, with rents ranging from $374 to $1,634.

But those 216 units won’t make much of a dent in a city where roughly 62.5% of renters are cost-burdened , meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing, Florida International University’s Metropolitan Center associate director Ned Murray said. By his count, that is 14,575 households in Hollywood that are cost-burdened. And of that number, more than 7,200 of them, are severely cost-burdened, meaning more than 50% of their income goes toward rent, he said.

For Hollywood to accommodate residents, it would need to shore up more units of affordable housing, he said.

“If it’s not a mixed income [development], they’re lost opportunities,” said Murray, who helped craft Broward County’s affordable housing plan . “There really has to be a certain percentage of units allocated for affordable housing.”

Mayor Josh Levy , who is running for his third term, said the city has taken steps to approve more affordable and workforce housing projects, including seven that are under construction and two more in the planning phases.

“Addressing affordability is the top issue,” he said at the recent candidates’ forum.

District 6 commission candidate Jamil Richards said he’d like for millennials such as himself to be able to stay in the city, and part of that means being able to afford to live in it.

“I would love to remain in the city, and I say that where I live, there’s a lot of millennials moving into our community, which is an amazing thing to see,” he said. “However, as often as they move in, as much as I speak to them, cost of living is a concern.”

Protecting the barrier island

Mayoral candidate Catherine Uden , who has said she’s against large-scale development, said she understands the city needs to grow but would rather see construction further west and along the U.S. 441 corridor, not on the barrier islands.

District 6 Commissioner Idelma Quintana , echoed her sentiments: “We need to be wise about new development on the beach,” she said.

A recent plan to build an 18-story mixed-used development by Condra Property Group has been met with ire. The development would bring retail and workforce housing with 40% units priced to be affordable for people making under 120% of the area median income, or under $105,120. The development would include a separate building with a three-story beach club with a rooftop pool.

Developers are seeking to have it built under Florida’s Live Local Act . If approved, the tower would be the second tallest building north of Hollywood Boulevard, after Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort.

Spread the wealth

Candidates who spoke at the forum said they aren’t opposed to growth, but some would like to see it spread throughout the city.

District 2 commission candidate Peter Hernandez said he would like to see more development further west, along 21st Avenue, Pines Boulevard and Sheridan Street. Still, he raised the concern of overdevelopment of high-rises in areas of primarily single-family homes that were once accustomed to a certain level of privacy.

“I am tired of four-story buildings in neighborhoods that overlook my property and don’t have privacy,” he said. “We need to look at the current zoning and make it work for [both] current and younger residents.”

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