Fort Lauderdale's city commission was poised to vote last week on approvals for two separate affordable housing developments that together would add 210 apartments to the city's constrained housing stock.

The larger of the two projects comes from McDowell Housing Partners, which is seeking a $640,000 opportunity loan from the city to support Ekos Melrose Manor, a 110-unit development planned for West Broward Boulevard. The project is being advanced under Florida's Live Local Act, the 2023 state law designed to streamline and incentivize affordable housing construction by limiting local governments' ability to block qualifying projects.

The second proposal involves a joint venture among Housing Trust Group, Elite Equity Development, and Greg Brewton & Associates, which is requesting a rezoning to develop 100 affordable units in Progresso Village, a historically Black neighborhood just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale. That project would be funded through the city's Community Redevelopment Agency. Residents served by the development would need to earn no more than 80 percent of Broward County's area median income — a threshold that works out to roughly $82,000 annually, based on the county's published AMI of $102,500.

The city commission was scheduled to take up both measures during the week of June 30, meaning votes on the loan approval, the rezoning, and any associated CRA funding commitments could all come within the same session.

Together, the two projects reflect a continued push by Fort Lauderdale officials and private developers to chip away at a regional affordable housing shortage that has intensified alongside rapid rent growth across South Florida. Broward County, like Miami-Dade to the south, has seen housing costs outpace wage growth for working- and middle-class residents, pushing demand for income-restricted units well beyond current supply.

The Live Local Act, which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law in 2023, has become a frequently used tool for developers seeking to accelerate approvals. By meeting the statute's affordability requirements, developers can bypass certain local zoning restrictions that might otherwise delay or block projects in established neighborhoods.

The Progresso Village proposal, by contrast, leans on the city's redevelopment apparatus. CRA districts channel a portion of property tax revenue generated by rising land values back into targeted neighborhoods, giving municipalities a funding mechanism to support projects that might not otherwise pencil out for private developers.

Original reporting by The Real Deal Miami.