The board of Riviera Beach’s Community Redevelopment Agency voted to contribute $2.8 million toward the construction of a 175-unit affordable housing complex a developer plans to build west of Broadway Avenue not far from the booming marina district.
Teachers, first responders, healthcare professionals and law enforcement will have first dibs on the one-, two- and thee-bedroom units, which will be part of a larger project that includes 4,000 square feet of retail space, street improvements, a small park, stormwater improvements for the nearby Boys and Girls Club facility and a 15,000-square foot community center. Groundbreaking is expected to take place at the end of this year after the developer, Marina Annex Housing, LLC, gets its building permit in October.
City Council members, sitting as the CRA’s Board of Commissioners, voted 4-0 to kick in $2.8 million to help the developer offset construction impact and water fees that are sharply higher than when the project was brought to the city in September 2025.
Councilwoman KaShamba Miller-Anderson, who participated in the discussion remotely but was barred by city rules from voting on the item because she was not sick, was sharply critical of the developer’s request and of her colleagues’ willingness to contribute funds given to the project, given the city’s need for money to pay for the vast set of infrastructure and development projects it has undertaken.
“We’re going to have to deal with some sort of shortfall at some point on the city, CRA, utility district,” Miller-Anderson said. “I don’t see how the city, CRA or utility district is in any position to give any funds away. The CRA has a lot of needs. We have a lot of needs. So, if this is a for-profit company, I don’t understand why you all are not able to handle that yourself. And if we’re going to sit here and give money away that we have a need for, that’s not doing right by taxpayers at all.”
Where’s the money coming from for new affordable housing project?
The CRA has already provided 1.3 acres of land toward the project. CRA Executive Director Gedel Merzius said the land has an appraised value of $4 million.
That would make the city’s total contribution $6.8 million. The developer noted that other government entities are also investing heavily in the project, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is providing a $53 million loan, Palm Beach County, which is providing $15 million in gap financing and the Palm Beach County School Board, which has contributed land worth $6 million.
CRA Board Chair Bruce Guyton, who has recently been cautioning his colleagues about over-spending, said the affordable housing project is an instance where the city must match the effort of other government entities.
“This is for workforce and affordable housing, something that we badly need in Riviera Beach,” Guyton said. “Desperately need, not badly need. Everybody else is ready to dump millions into Riviera Beach. They’re putting their trust in our city, all of these government entities. And if they come here and Riviera Beach says, ‘No, we’re not going to give anything,’ when people try to get funds to come to Riviera Beach in the future, it’s going to be a problem.”
Riviera Beach’s building boom — which includes a marina district redevelopment project that could cost as much as $700 million, a new water treatment facility whose costs could surge past $400 million, and $115 million for a new police department headquarters, a new fire station and new recreational facilities — is beginning to give its elected officials pause. Several have expressed concerns that residents will soon be unable to cope with higher property taxes, debt service costs and water rates.
But council members said the importance of affordable housing in the city will only increase as the city grows.
“We have an opportunity now to provide 175 units to those people that work for the city,” Councilman Glen Spiritis said. “Some of them live in the city. Many of them live in Port St. Lucie because they can’t afford to stay in the city. So, they travel back and forth. You’re talking about your school teachers, your nurses, your firemen, your police officers, your city employees, the people that work for us. If we want to keep them, we have to be able to give them a place where they can afford to stay in their community.”
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rapidly-developing city kicks in $2.8M for affordable housing project
Reporting by Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
