The Pride Center Partners with Carrfour Supportive Housing to Develop The Residences at Equality Park
One of South Florida’s most overlooked populations, aging members of the LGBTQ community, will soon have a new aff ordable housing option in Broward County. The Pride Center, one of the nation’s largest nonprofi t LGBTQ community centers, will team-up with Miami-based Carrfour Supportive Housing, Florida’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, to develop The Residences at Equality Park. The residential development will provide permanent affordable housing and supportive services for low-income senior adults, with a special focus on members of the LGBTQ communities.
The 48-unit development will be South Florida’s first aff ordable housing project with customized supportive services benefiting low-income LGBTQ seniors. The innovative project represents the fi rst phase of the master plan for redevelopment of the five-acre site of The Pride Center at Equality Park.
The Residences at Equality Park will come alive in two phases. The first phase will include 48 apartments – 34 of which will be designated for low-income seniors living with disabling conditions, such as physical illnesses or disabilities due to complications from HIV/AIDS. The remaining units will provide aff ordable low-income housing for seniors earning less than 60% of the area’s median income (AMI) – or approximately $35,000 a year. The first phase of construction will begin in the fourth quarter of 2017 and be completed in late 2018. The project’s proposed second phase, which will include an additional 74 units, is expected to be developed at a later date.
“Broward County has a rapidlyexpanding population of aging LGBTQ adults and unfortunately, very limited affordable housing options,” said Robert Boo, CEO of The Pride Center. “The Residences at Equality Park, coupled with The Pride Center’s evergrowing seniors programming – the largest LGBTQ seniors program in the nation – will help give these residents a House of Love permanent and safe place to live along with the supportive services they need to stay there.”
The Residences at Equality Park joins a growing national trend in which senior affordable housing projects are being built in conjunction with LGBTQ community centers in major cities across the country, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago and Philadelphia. According to a recent survey by the Institute for Multigenerational Health, 47 percent of LGBTQ seniors in the U.S. are currently living with a disabling condition.
“There’s a growing need for affordable housing in South Florida, particularly among underserved populations such as the senior LGBTQ community and those living with disabilities,” said Stephanie Berman, President and CEO of Carrfour Supportive Housing. “Beyond providing a place to call home, Carrfour will partner with The Pride Center to ensure that residents at The Residences at Equality Park have convenient access to community services, healthcare, fi nancial planning, and social networks that combat isolation.”
Carrfour will serve as the project’s developer, operator and service coordinator. The Pride Center, with over 23 years of experience serving the LGBTQ community in South Florida, will provide residents with innovative on-site supportive services, including healthcare navigation and coordination, senior support groups, workshops, exercise and recreational activities.
“A few years ago, Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing identifi ed a desperate need in the greater Fort Lauderdale area for lowincome housing,” said Boo. “The City of Wilton Manors approached The Center about addressing local needs and Equality Park’s optimum location and resources to help meet those needs.”
“Four and a half years ago during our Strategic Planning process, the Board of Directors set a goal to evaluate the potential of a senior aff ordable housing project to be built on Equality Park,” said Boo. “Over the next three and a half years, we did our due diligence. During this same time, we updated the Master Plan for our campus. We partnered with the team at TSAO Design in a year-long process, including an extensive Charrette with 65 diverse community leaders. The results of that Charrette were presented to the Board last summer, and the top priorities helped set our direction. The Senior Affordable Housing Project remains one of the largest, most significant projects identified both by our Strategic Plan and the Charrette process.”
Located at the corner of North Dixie Highway and Northeast 20th Drive in Wilton Manors, the five-acre Equality Park campus is owned by The Pride Center. It is slated for significant redevelopment, which will include the phase one project The Residences at Equality Park. Plans also call for a new multi-use cultural center along the eastern edge of the site on North Dixie Highway and water front event space. Additional parking structures also are planned.
“Since we announced this incredible news, our phones have kept ringing,” said Boo. “People keep asking how they can get on the wait list. We have to let them know we’re still a few years away. Obviously the need among local Seniors is real.”
