The city of Kissimmee is making local strides to cure the region-wide affordable housing shortage problem. The Haven on Vine project, a hotel conversion slated to bring 120 income-based housing units and bridge-to-housing services to Vine Street, is moving forward thanks to a $1.8 million federal Housing and Urban Development grant.
City Commissioner Angela Eady is trying to take that momentum another step in trying to create more affordable housing, while not having to build more dwellings that need added utilities.
At Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, Eady proposed making it possible for homeowners to turn their two-car garages into a studio apartment, able to be rented to people or families in need.
Her motivation, she said, came from a family who she’s heard drives into her neighborhood very late each night to sleep in their car.
“There’s others in that situation across the city due to the rising cost of living,” she said.
Eady got a head-nod approval from other commissioners, City Manager Mike Steigerwald and Deputy Manager Desiree Mathews, who is the city’s lead on Haven on Vine and other affordable housing efforts.
“Before I presented it I got the blessing from a lot of community people involved, and that made me feel good,” Eady said.
Eligible homeowners would need a two-car garage in a home that’s homesteaded, and not governed by a homeowner’s association (HOA). If the city were to provide funding for the home expansion — Eady said she’s looking into government grants that support that — 25 percent of the rent would go to the city to defray those costs.
Eady said that, before she proposed the idea, she heard from a contact in Kissimmee who converted their garage on their own and , leased it out to a single parent with a child for $1,300 a month.
“We know there are people who have a heart for people who want to do something to help.”
Eady said she’s heard from people on both sides of supporting the proposal since Tuesday’s meeting.
“I’ve heard from some who think it’s a great idea, but I know not all of our 86,000 residents want to be bothered,” she said. “This would do nothing more than extend the family who lives (in a home). A lot of people win in this.
“This would increase the property values of those homes, which would expand the city’s tax base. And it’d provide extra income for homeowners who are facing higher insurance premiums.”
Eady said she’s turned the suggestion over to city staff to study it, but said she is continuing to research the nuances of pulling this off.
Steigerwald said the rents would be qualified or regulated, and that this was a consideration the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee was already looking into.
According to national apartment listing service RentCafe, 50% of one-bedroom apartments in the city are renting from $1,400-1,600 per month, and that doesn’t take into account security and utility deposits due at the start of a lease.
Said Eady: “Not everyone who needs a place can afford all that.”
An official with the Osceola County Association of Realtors said it would take a further look at the proposal before weighing in on it.
