DAYTONA BEACH — The Daytona Beach Housing Authority plans to launch a $57.1 million development soon as part of a sweeping vision to enhance part of Midtown.
The housing authority and the city created the “Transform Midtown” plan in September 2025, with the help of funding from a federal grant. Officials recently provided an update to the city of Daytona Beach, which the agency is working on with development partner Housing Trust Group.
“What we plan on doing with our master plan is making the historic Midtown neighborhood a better community,” Charles Woodyard, housing authority CEO, told The News-Journal.
Midtown is part of the area between Ridgewood Avenue and Nova Road in Daytona Beach.
Palms at Loomis, a $57M development, will help Carolina Village residents
Created by the City Commission in 1938, the Daytona Beach Housing Authority works with the city but operates as a separate entity.
The city and the housing authority received a $500,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant in September of 2023.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods program seeks to replace public housing and “HUD-assisted housing” that is in bad shape “with high-quality, mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood,” according to HUD. The program also seeks to improve the health, finances, education and employment of residents; attract economic growth and improve’ quality of life.
The $500,000 planning grant funded the “Transform Midtown” plan, which intends to further those goals. Crafting the plan involved input from about 1,000 people, including residents, officials from the city and the Daytona Beach Housing Authority and others.
The Midtown plan focuses on replacing housing for three existing developments: Palmetto Park, Caroline Village and Walnut Oak. Part of the plan includes tearing down Caroline Village, a public housing complex that has experienced repeated flooding, to create a park.
The first development on deck to advance the plan will be a relief valve for Caroline Village and Walnut Oak. Residents from those developments will be able to move to a new development called The Palms at Loomis.
The transformation plan calls for both Walnut Oak and Caroline Village to be “repositioned for recreation, flood management and commercial activity.”
The Palms at Loomis will provide 130 affordable apartments on about nine acres at 729 Loomis Ave., near Campbell Middle School, according to a presentation from project officials. The development is estimated to cost $51.7 million, with no capital funding requested from the city. Funding will come from “private equity and federal and state housing programs.”
“The Palms at Loomis replaces aging, distressed public housing with a brand new, mixed-income community. … New affordable units are built before the old ones come down, so no resident is displaced during construction,” according to a presentation provided to city commissioners on June 17.
The development will include a mix of apartments with two to four bedrooms. Amenities will include a fitness room, computer lab, community room and kitchen.
Because the site is in a flood zone, project officials plan to raise the site at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation. Using fill dirt is an option.
“Integrated stormwater management holds water on-site and keeps it off neighboring streets,” according to the presentation.
If all goes according to schedule, developers plan to have residents move in starting in December 2028, said Bryan Finnie, senior vice president of development with the Housing Trust Group.
Finnie said developers will be looking for help from the city and county governments to expedite permits and for subsidies to perhaps help renters.
“We’re going to need help — not so much money, but getting our plans approved, working through the system to get things done. Time is money.”
Bigger vision calls for Midtown community enhancements, including recreation space
Part of the vision for the part of Midtown transformation plan was on display through a video presentation provided to city commissioners. The vision, based on the Midtown transformation plan, focuses on recreation, connectivity, community spaces, mixed-income housing, transportation, event spaces and more.
“The roadmap centers on five goals: Preparing youth for success, supporting health and well being, building a resilient and connected community, attracting investment and creating quality housing,” according to the video.
The video focused on Caroline Village and Palmetto Park.
The Caroline Village site would be transformed into a park extending north from South Street and “linking schools and community assets.” It would include a play space, boardwalks, a football field, tennis courts, baseball and softball fields. North of the park would be an event lawn and plaza, suitable for events and community gatherings.
On Keech Street, the plan envisions shaded seating for the bus stop across from the public library. Meanwhile, Loomis Avenue would become “a pedestrian friendly festival plaza” that would be ideal for food trucks, markets and other events.
Also, Palmetto Park would become “a vibrant mixed-income neighborhood.”
“All 250 public housing units will be replaced one for one, with 255 additional workforce and market rate homes added,” according to the video.
Other features of the vision include green spaces, a revamped neighborhood network center with a computer lab, community kitchen and pantry, outdoor play space and a transportation hub.
Woodyard said the plan is about more than just housing and real estate, it’s also about improving people’s lives.
A timeline isn’t solidified for the larger plan, but the Housing Authority and its partners will be working with the community as the vision takes shape.
“We’re going to keep the community involved in this process,” Woodyard said. “I’ll be coming back to the (City Commission) giving updates.”
— Sheldon Gardner covers Volusia County government, including Volusia County beaches, the city of Daytona Beach and local governments in West Volusia.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: $57M effort part of vision for Daytona Beach’s Midtown. What’s ahead
Reporting by Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
