Alonzo Mourning, developers secure financing for affordable housing complex
Former Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning and a team of developers have secured financing for a $22.8 million affordable housing project in Overtown.
Mourning’s company AM Affordable Housing and his partner Coconut Grove-based Housing Trust Group plan to build 84 units of affordable housing at 1700 NW 4th Avenue. The units will be available for those who make 60 percent or less of the area median income.
The project, called Courtside Family Apartments, will be the first of three phases of development on the four-acre site.
“I’m extremely pleased that all our hard work has finally paid off,” Mourning said in a statement. “Since we were first awarded the project in 2008, we have had to overcome many obstacles to get to this point, but we persevered . . . Our teamwork, dedication, high energy and hard work mirror the same qualities it takes to build a champion.”
The project’s second phase will involve about 120 units of senior housing. A third phase has yet to be finalized but could include about 80 residential units.
The project marks the first venture into affordable housing for Mourning, who started a philanthropic foundation and has done significant charity work in Overtown since retiring from basketball in 2008.
The sources of the funds are: $9 million in state low-income housing tax credits; $3.31 million in construction debt from Citi Community Capital; $7.5 million from the Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency; and a $1.75 million loan from Miami-Dade County’s surtax program for affordable housing.
Construction will begin in 30 to 45 days, and should wrap up within 14 months.
Developers say the project will create about 150 temporary construction jobs, as well 35 permanent jobs in rental leasing, property management, landscaping and other fields.
This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Alonzo Mourning, developers secure financing for affordable housing complex."