ORLANDO, Fla. — Senior citizens make up about 31 percent of low-income Floridians who are “rent-burdened,” meaning they pay more than a third of their income on rent, according to the Florida Housing Coalition 2019 Home Matters Report. 

One brand-new affordable housing community for seniors in the Orlando area is aiming to be a part of the solution. It’s The Preserve at Emerald Villas, a 96-unit building that on Thursday will open for occupancy. 

Already over a dozen leases have been accepted for new tenants at The Preserve. Eligible applicants are at least 55 years old, with incomes that fall below 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area.

One of those applicants is Viola Dozier, 58, who is looking forward to hopefully getting a new start in a one-bedroom unit at The Preserve. There was a time when she couldn’t afford a home of her own at all. After her husband died of health issues exactly six years ago, Dozier said she ran out of funds.

“I packed all my stuff in storage and I moved from one daughter to the other, to the other, to a brother, to a friend,” Dozier said. 

Dozier was fortunate to have family and friends to count on. But she didn’t have “a place that I could call home,” she said.

After a year and a half of surfing from home to home, Dozier and her niece started renting at New Horizons, another apartment complex not too far away. Originally, New Horizons was also an affordable housing facility.

But shortly after Dozier and her niece signed on for a second year, the building was sold. New ownership raised the rent by more than $200. 

Dozier negotiated with management to compromise on a slightly lower rent. But that was only a short-term solution, with no guarantee that rent wouldn’t continue to go up in years to come. 

“Upon selling, they didn't have in the clause of the paperwork that it had to stay affordable housing,” Dozier said.

So when she learned about The Preserve, Dozier jumped on the chance to apply. She’s excited about the chance to start fresh, in a place all her own. The Preserve has amenities that her current apartment complex doesn’t, like a washer/dryer on every floor, and an exercise path outback.

It’s the second phase in a joint affordable housing project between the Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corporation and The Related Group, a development group based in Miami. The first phase, Emerald Villas, is open to tenants of any age who meet the income requirements.

Those who are interested in applying to live at The Preserve can find more information at The Related Group's website.  

Molly Duerig is a Report for America corps member who is covering Affordable Housing for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.