ORLANDO, Fla. — Affordable housing can be hard to come by in Central Florida, but that will soon change with the city of Orlando making investments to provide affordable housing in several new mixed-income developments.

For more than a year, construction crews have been working nonstop all over the Creative Village. It’s hard for International Car Wash owner Al Lewis to miss.

While he has mixed feelings about the Amelia Court housing development, he says it’s still progress and growth for downtown Orlando and the Parramore community.

“It will look better, that’s a positive,” Lewis said.

As the Amelia Court housing development nears completion at the Creative Village, city leaders are putting a big focus on providing affordable housing as a way to combat the rising cost of living in Central Florida.

“Affordable housing is at premium — we have a shortage of it throughout Central Florida … and we are aggressively trying to address that,” said Chatmon Thomas, Executive Director of the Downtown Orlando Development Board.

Thomas says several new properties, like Amelia Court and Parramore Oaks, will be mixed-income developments, providing affording housing to people in need.

Orlando’s Community Redevelopment Agency has put up more than $12 million to make housing affordable in the downtown Orlando and Parramore area.

About 500 new multi-family housing units and 57 new single-family homes are currently in the works with Ameila Court and Parramore Oaks, having units available later in 2019. Rent can be made available at a lower rate depending on family income.