MIAMI-In a neighborhood plagued with neglect, where empty lots, some filled with rubble, dot the landscape, the Metro Apartments affordable housing project, developed by the Miami-based Carlisle Development Group, will break ground on June 1, the first such development in the area in years.

Overtown, which borders downtown, has been the subject of many plans over the years, but few have come to fruition. Just a couple of blocks to the east, Biscayne Boulevard is lined with gleaming new luxury condominium skyscrapers. The contrast between the two neighboring districts, Biscayne Boulevard in downtown and Overtown to the west, is stark.

Metro Apartments at 1000 NW First Avenue, will be a $25 million, 90-unit, 13-story high-rise affordable housing development targeted at low and very low-income households. Ninety percent of the units will be set aside for tenants earning 60% or less of the area median income. The project is scheduled for completion in 12 to 18 months. Funding for Metro Apartments will come from various sources, including $20.7 million from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s Tax Credit Exchange Program, which converts tax credits into grants for developers.

Another $2.4 million will come from the First Housing Development Corporation of Florida, a Tampa-based mortgage banking firm specializing in the financing of multifamily affordable housing, and $2.1 million will come from a Miami-Dade County surtax.

According to a May 25th Miami Herald, nearly 100 affordable housing developments in Florida, including 44 in South Florida, have been awarded some kind of federal stimulus money in the past year, from grants to low-interest loans. Many of these projects had been stalled for years, but now can move forward. The Carlisle Group is one of the developers benefiting from affordable housing stimulus funds.

Carlisle is the largest affordable housing developer in Florida with 10 existing affordable housing developments in South Florida alone. In addition, the company has affordable housing developments in Northeast Florida, the Southeast region of the US, and the US Virgin Islands.