By Lorenzo W. Snelling | Special to Le Floridien
Former Miami Heat star Udonis Haslem is now taking on a different role.
The three-time NBA World Champion is building affordable housing in North Miami to help people struggling to stay in their homes with high mortgage and rental rates in Miami-Dade County.
Haslem, and urban developer Magellan Housing, have joined forces to construct about 174 affordable rentals and 26 workforce townhouses for sale at the southwest corner of N.E. 139 Street and Fourth Avenue.
Haslem and the company bought the land, which is roughly 6.3 acres, from the City of North Miami for $1.5 million, according to city records.
The project is an effort to help South Florida tackle the affordable housing crisis.
People living in households earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income, which is $74,700 a year, can qualify for the rental apartments and workforce townhomes.
The maximum income for one person in the household is $43,380, $49,560 for a two-person household and $55,740 for three people living in one home.
Monthly rents at Catherine Flon Estates will be $1,161 for one-bedroom units; $1,393 for two-bedroom units; and $1,610 for three-bedroom units, according to Magellan Housing.
The townhouses will target households earning no more than 120 percent of the AMI.
Magellan Housing has developed 17 properties of 2,000 total affordable housing units with a cost basis in excess of over $400 million in Florida and Texas, according to the company’s website.
The proposed Catherine Flon Estates could bring some relief in North Miami, a Haitian-American predominately community, amid South Florida’s affordable housing crisis.
North Miami city officials said North Miami and other areas in Miami are known for high housing costs, including and the demand for housing in the area often drives up prices, making it challenging for low and moderate-income individuals and families to find affordable housing options.
“Affordable housing has a wide-reaching positive impact on communities, promoting economic growth, social stability, and overall well-being,” the City of North Miami said in a statement. “It plays a crucial role in creating vibrant, inclusive, and resilient communities that benefit everyone who calls them home. This will not only benefit Haitian-Americans but all North Miami residents.”
Though the City of North Miami is not in a partnership with Haslem and Magellan, the city is involved with other affordable housing projects including Residences at NoMi and NoMi Lofts Elderly Residential Project.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Marleine Bastien, who represents District 2 which includes North Miami, said her constituents are losing their homes to foreclosure and people are being evicted from their apartments because they can no longer afford high mortgage and rental rates.
She made the comments during a September 6 County Commission meeting when she opposed Miami-Dade increasing its trash collection fee to $36 to the current fee of $509 a year.
Commissioners narrowly approved the fee on a 7-6 vote.
According to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, raising the fee, the county would avoid laying off solid waste workers, reducing garbage services from two days a week to one and eliminating recycling service.
In her argument, Bastien said adding the fee increase to property taxes would make it difficult for some of her constituents who are already struggling to pay their mortgages.
“If they can’t pay the fee increase, then they will face fines and their fines will increase and a lien is placed on their properties,” she said.
Bastien said her constituents are struggling to find affordable housing in Miami-Dade because their salaries are stagnant while the cost of living soars, prompting an exodus to other states.
“I deal with it on a daily basis,” she said.
