Berman-Eisenberg: Pandemic to stress need for already-limited affordable housing in Miami
Measures to contain the spread of coronavirus are still shifting by the day — and so are responses by investors, developers, builders, banks and buyers. To track the impact in real-time, RE|source Miami is asking area real estate professionals in various sectors for on-the-ground reports.
Today we hear from Stephanie Berman-Eisenberg, chief executive officer and president of Carrfour Supportive Housing. The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce established the nonprofit in 1993 to develop and operate affordable and supportive housing in South Florida. Since it opened, Carrfour Supportive Housing has utilized millions in financing, tax credits and subsidies to develop and manage over 2,000 units in over 20 communities, including in Liberty City, Little Havana and Downtown Miami.
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Q: What immediate impact are you seeing on affordable housing as a result of COVID-19?
True affordable housing, which is affordable to the neediest in our community, operates with little to no cash flow. Operators such as Carrfour Supportive Housing are already feeling the impact of increased expenses such as escalating costs for cleaning and supplies while facing a significant reduction in rent collection due to residents experiencing financial hardships. Another immediate impact is a spike in demand for affordable housing. Carrfour is receiving hundreds of calls for affordable housing each week.
Q: Miami has long struggled with housing costs. In the wake of COVID-19, are you expecting to see an increase in demand for affordable housing?
With hundreds of calls each week from families looking for affordable housing, we are seeing an increase in demand. Before COVID-19, Miami was already among the most cost-burdened areas of the country with vast numbers of our neighbors living one crisis away from homelessness. With jobs and income vanishing overnight, that crisis has come. Our community did not have enough affordable housing before the pandemic and we are not prepared for the onslaught that is coming our way.
Q: What lessons from previous economic downturns might Miami learn that could apply to the COVID crisis?
One of the most important lessons is that we must rapidly come together as neighborhoods and communities with a personal responsibility to our most vulnerable neighbors. Timing matters. While it will take us many months and possibly years to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic, the most vulnerable in our community are already suffering today. We must get into action now and eliminate bureaucracy to quickly get resources to where they are needed most.
Q: Do you expect to see any change in financing for affordable housing projects as a result of COVID-19?
I am hopeful that we will see additional financing for developing new affordable housing communities as a result of COVID-19. However, traditional investments in new affordable housing made today will take years to produce. We need to be creative and use funding in non-traditional ways to create additional affordable housing quickly. For example, incentivize landlords of vacant non-affordable housing to reduce their rents to an affordable level. In addition, funding rental assistance programs will also bring immediate relief.
Q: Over the past year, local governments have unveiled a number of sophisticated plans for addressing the housing crisis. Do you expect those programs to move forward, or will this crisis send all of those plans back to the drawing board?
Unfortunately, we are a community that has spent years trying to build consensus around a plan, but never got to consensus or true community wide implementation. A commonality in all plans is that given the magnitude of the problem, a multi-pronged approach must be implemented. Rather than continuing to have dialogue and trying to reach consensus, I would urge that we as a community take on whatever we have the ability to do from any of the plans, and just do it. Whether you are a developer, lender, government or a private citizen, now is the time for us all to take action.
