The Orange County Commission approved a plan to invest over $50 million into a countywide housing trust fund for the next three years.
The trust fund helps finance the construction of new affordable housing units and the preservation and development of already existing ones.
It’s estimated that over the next three years, the fund will help add around 2,500 affordable housing units to the local housing market.
But Commissioner Mayra Uribe says she’s concerned these projections are off.
Uribe says the county is taking credit for some affordable housing projects that were actually spearheaded by private companies.
“Are those projects we were involved in? Or are those companies that have gotten federal funds on their own, that have done this? Because I know one of them. We really weren't that engaged. They got all their funding. They're, you know, Durham, out of North Carolina.”
Commissioner Emily Bonilla echoed this sentiment.
“So I definitely would love to see the breakdown on that so that we can see what's working and see how effective it is. I think that would give us a great idea. You know, if, if these projects were because they got loans from our trust fund, or are these projects because they got discounts on impact fees.”
The National Low Income Housing Coalition has ranked Orlando the second least affordable area in the country for low income renters.
