Joel EngelhardtNew $39 million Riviera Beach apartment complex fully occupied at ribbon-cutting.
Development is changing the face of the long-dormant Broadway corridor in Riviera Beach.
Catch up quick: Community leaders held a ceremony Friday to open a 112-unit affordable housing rental project, Berkeley Landing, built by Miami-based Pinnacle and Altamonte Springs-based Wendover Housing Partners.
- The apartments, which opened earlier this year, are fully occupied.
Why it’s important: The project at 3100 Broadway is one of the few public-private housing efforts for the lowest-income residents to reach fruition before Palm Beach County voters agreed in November 2022 to let the county borrow $200 million to inject into such projects.
What they’re saying: “Berkeley Landing is a shining example of how Palm Beach County can work shoulder to shoulder with Riviera Beach and other cities, as well as the private sector, to meet the Board of County Commissioners’ goal of expanding affordable housing for our citizens,” Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker said in a statement.
“At the end of the day, there are 110 families getting an opportunity to live here in Riviera Beach,” County Commissioner Mack Bernard said. “We need to continue the fight.”
The main financing for the $39.4 million project came from a $27 million tax credit loan through Bank of America. The Neighborhood Lending Partners, a Tampa-based consortium of banks, provided a $7.8 million mortgage.
Palm Beach County loaned $1 million, the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency loaned $640,000 and the county offset $2.6 million in impact fees.
About half the units will be rented to tenants earning 60 percent of the Area Median Income, at rents of $1,205 for a one-bedroom, $1,446 for two bedrooms and $1,671 for three bedrooms.
- The other half goes to renters qualified at 30 percent of AMI, 50 percent and 80 percent.
- The county AMI tops $100,000 for a family of four.
Of note: Two units are two-story live-work lofts along Broadway, renting at market rates. The first will be a barber shop.
What’s next? Other projects under construction on Broadway include the FoundCare Riviera Beach Health Center and a Viking boat dealership near the city’s Marina Village.
Keep reading: Twin waterfront towers proposed for Broadway in Riviera Beach, Margaritaville at Sea hotel aims for Riviera Beach Marina Village.
Joel is a founder, reporter and editor at Stet News. His award-winning newspaper career spanned more than 40 years, including 28 years at The Palm Beach Post, which he left in 2020. Joel lives with his wife in Palm Beach Gardens. He volunteers on the board of NAMI Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society.
