St Joe is building affordable housing in So Wal

[Smiling JOe]

Tonight, Walton County Commissioners "forced" (I use the term loosely) St Joe to build affordable housing in SoWal in exchange to allow WaterSound north to be developed. St Joe agreed to build 150 affordable housing units in SoWal and they will begin construction in 2007. Location is yet to be determined.

What about them apples???

I am sure you can read more about it in Pasha's article in the upcoming issue of the Walton Sun.

 

[Kurt]

Interesting. Especially since affordable housing in SoWal is around $450k for a 1500 square foot house.

I imagine they will build some townhomes on one of their less desireable parcels (if there is such a thing) north of 98, maybe bordering the commercial park or other commercial development.

I also imagine they're not too broken up about providing some nearby housing for needed workers.

I wonder if there will be a lottery system, and if prices will double before completion.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Interesting. Especially since affordable housing in SoWal is around $450k for a 1500 square foot house.

I imagine they will build some townhomes on one of their less desireable parcels (if there is such a thing) north of 98, maybe bordering the commercial park or other commercial development.

I also imagine they're not too broken up about providing some nearby housing for needed workers.

I wonder if there will be a lottery system, and if prices will double before completion.

There are definitions in place regarding "affordable housing." I don't have the details with me, but it is based on the average income of residents in the county, which gives a really low price for the homes. The problem becomes, "What happens when the people who bought the affordable homes sell out? They get big money for there homes leaving no affordable housing."

I know a man who has a Habitat for Humanity home in SoWal with Bay views. The land alone would bring $400,000, and his house is fairly nice.

My guess is that St Joe will probably sell these affordable housing units to their own employees.

I am glad that St Joe will be doing building these, but I hate the fact that the gov't is forced to make them do it.

Any opinions?

 

[katie blue]

I have to admit that's a tough question, SmilingJoe. Typically, I prefer that government stay as non-intrusive in the free market as much as possible, and focus more on the basic services such as police, education, trash collection, roads/infrastructure etc.

But it's complex. This initiative seems win/win/win. Walton county needs service personnel to maintain the economy here. Service personnel need good, solid homes within a reasonable distance from their jobs, else they will move on. St. Joe wants to find a good use for its inland acreage.

But i can see why it doesnt sit quite right. In an ideal world, St. Joe would have taken the far-thinking, honorable and socially conscious step to provide these homes -- without the government having to legislate it. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that they hadn't begun building more affordable communites already, on their own volition, because they do seem to have some very good intentions and quite a few visionaries on their staff. Where I was not exactly sure of them a few years ago, I've since come to respect them to a large degree. (heck, i even own stock now.)

So, just in my own humble opinion, i'm suspending my usual viewpoint about govt's role, and am rather glad that people will have affordable, accessible homes--regardless of how they came to be. just seems like the Right Thing To Do. maybe every now and then our govt gets it right. Just wish St Joe had done it on their own, first, so govt wouldnt have to get involved at all.

 

[Kurt]

Falling short of a fair society providing decent housing for all, our government does provide meager requirements and incentives. St. Joe or stockholders will surely not lose out by being "forced" to provide.

In SoWal as well as nationwide, one hand washes the other, or scratches someone's back, or dips into the cookie jar, or . . . . .

 

[beachmouse]

A lot of the affordable housing purchase programs have resale clauses in the contract that prevent flipping. Generally, a home must be an owner-occupied primary residence. And if the buyer sells within a certain time frame (5 years is typical) they are only allowed to keep a certain amount of the sales price over a certain amount. Say, units are originally priced at $100K and the contract says you're allowed 5% appreciation per year. After one year, the original buyer moves, and put the home on the market. It sells for a fair market price of $165K. They seller gets the first $105K of the sales price. The next $60K of sales price goes not to the seller, but back into the county affordable housing program to build more moderate price/ moderate income units.

You can also have clauses saying that original buyer must sell to another buyer who will use the unit as a primary residence, and whose family income is lower than X per year.

 

[katie blue]

that seems pretty fair and reasonable.

 

[Kurt]

Tonight, Walton County Commissioners "forced" (I use the term loosely) St Joe to build affordable housing in SoWal in exchange to allow WaterSound north to be developed. St Joe agreed to build 150 affordable housing units in SoWal and they will begin construction in 2007. Location is yet to be determined.

What about them apples???

I am sure you can read more about it in Pasha's article in the upcoming issue of the Walton Sun.

The article says that the units will be inside WaterSound North:

St. Joe is putting in ?affordable housing? at their WaterSound North project, but what exactly does ?affordable? mean?
?It is important to use the term, ?more affordable,?? said Jerry M. Ray, vice president of corporate communications at St. Joe said.
?You can?t really define affordable,? County Commissioner Scott Brannon also said. ?It is what will be more affordable.?
WaterSound Phase 1 Development of Regional Impact calls for 150 affordable housing units. Work is slated to start July 1, 2007 and be completed by July 2009.
When asked how much the housing will cost, Ray said, ?The county has to define it, not us.?
Walton County Land Development Code defines affordable housing using a median income formula, Brannon said.
The exact price of the more affordable housing at WaterSound is yet to be determined.
?It is a challenge, we will need to work with the county to adjust density,? Ray said. ?It won?t happen by itself.?
St. Joe is looking at a mix of housing, ranging from public type housing to single-family housing, cluster housing and townhouses.
?We will present a fairly broad range of choice to represent a profile for most everybody, ?Ray said.
Brannon said the county is looking to other communities, like Breckenridge, Colo. for ideas on ?community-type employee workforce housing.?
?We want housing with an asset to where it is,? Brannon explained as the ideal. ?Homes that will not cause land value to come down.?
When asked whom the affordable housing will cater to, Ray said there are different needs out there. ?The cookie cutter approach doesn?t always work,? he said.

 

[Buckhead Rick]

speaking of un affordable housing, I have seen several ads for Nature Walk (north of the Watercolor Publix), but they will not return my telephone calls (what do they know that I don't) nor can I bring up their web site. I am not computer literate perhaps someone else can and let me know what prices they are asking? WWW.naturewalkatseagrove.com. Thank you again for your help.

 

[Kurt]

what do they know that I don't

That they're out of product. A lot of resales will be coming soon.
info@naturewalkatseagrove.com