Buen Vecino! Council on Aging earns HUD grant to build affordable senior housing

Thanks to a federal grant and additional investment from local government, housing help is coming to Kissimmee to help a segment hit hardest by inflation and rising housing costs – our seniors.

The Osceola County Council on Aging announced Friday it is the recipient of a $5.6 million Department of Housing and Urban Development grant. It will be used to construct Buen Vecino, which translates to “Good Neighbor,” an affordable housing complex for seniors aged 62 and over on Competition Drive in Buenaventura Lakes.

Sixty single-story, one-bedroom units will be built on six acres. Rent will be subsidized, so residents will have to pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward their housing payment. A communal clubhouse will house a congregate meal site to hold lunches and activities. It will include an on-site social worker to help maintain residents’ needs. 

The Osceola Council on Aging was among 32 senior-serving organizations to apply for this grant – and the only one to receive it. A timeline of the process can be derived from business filings; Buen Vecino Apartments LLC was created and filed on May 9, and its listing was updated on July 25 per public records.

To complete the project, Osceola County will invest $3.8 million, and the City of Kissimmee will contribute $500,000. Kissimmee Mayor Olga Gonzalez and County Commissioners Cheryl Grieb and Viviana Janer (the development will be in her district 2) were on hand at Friday’s unveiling.

“Over the last five years, we have developed or committed to over 1,000 units, that’s about 200 per year, and that’s such a good feeling,” Janer said. “This is near and dear to me because it’s near and dear to one of my most special groups, and that’s seniors. They’re part of our most vulnerable community, worked their whole lives and paid their dues, and now living on fixed incomes they can’t keep up with these high, rising rents.

“Keeping these projects moving forward is a key priority for me, and I am pleased to partner with the Osceola Council on Aging because of their commitment to seniors in our community who urgently need affordable housing.”

Construction is scheduled to begin early in 2023. The application process for the first residents would start late in that year.

“We are beyond blessed to be the only organization in the State of Florida to receive this grant for our affordable housing project because of the need in our community,” Council on Aging CEO Wendy Ford said Friday.