DELAND, Fla. — Communities across the nation are facing an affordable housing crisis, and Volusia County is no exception.

As part of its efforts to address the situation, members of the Volusia County Council approved $7.8 million in to build more affordable housing units at their Tuesday meeting.

What You Need To Know

  • Volusia County Council approved $7.8 million to build affordable housing units throughout the county during its Tuesday meeting

  • The funding will go to four different affordable housing projects that will result in a total of 302 units

  • Two of the projects will be built in Orange City, one in DeLand and one in Holly Hill

Community Services Director Dr. Bradley Burbaugh and Director of Community Assistance Carmen Hall presented statistics to the council on the current housing situation in the county. They told the Council that there has been a 35% increase in local rent prices since 2021, and approximately 34,146 renter households are cost burdened.

According to the county, “Affordable" rent represents the generally accepted standard of spending not more than 30% of gross income on housing.

Locally, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,302 per month, which means a renter working full time and earning less than $25.04 per hour, or $52,080 annually, is unable to comfortably afford one.

An individual making the minimum wage would need to work 91 hours per week, or more than two full-time jobs, to be able to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

As a result, officials say there are more households in need of affordable housing in Volusia County than there are units available.

To address this need, the county released a request for proposals for Affordable Housing Development Gap Funding to support the development of new, attainable rental units.

Out of the proposals received, the county voted 5-2, with council members Danny Robins and Don Dempsey in dissent, to approve funding for the following four different affordable housing projects, which will produce a total of 302 units:

  • A complex on New York Avenue in DeLand that will have 84 units

  • A complex on West Minnesota Avenue in Orange City with 68 units

  • A complex with 70 units in Holly Hill

  • A complex in Orange City with 80 units of affordable housing for seniors

According to the county, the funds will require a zero-interest mortgage, and all units will be for households that make at or below 80% of the area median income. The units will have to stay affordable for at least 50 years and the Florida Housing Finance Authority will monitor the projects.

“We’re a tourist industry here in this county,” Volusia County Council member At-Large Jake Johansson said. “We need to take care of those people — our teachers, our young nurses, our people that are in that 80% range. And I think we’re making a dent, not a big dent. We will always have an affordable housing issue in the county, because it’s not solely the government’s responsibility to take care of affordable housing.”

County Chair Jeff Brower said these affordable housing projects will help everyday people who cannot afford rent prices.

“There’s just a shortage, and this helps,” he said. “That’s why we’re calling it a gap fund. It helps bridge that gap, because there is a tremendous existing local problem.”

The next step in the process will be for the companies who received the funding to complete the required paperwork for the construction of the affordable housing units.

Brower said officials hope the projects’ construction will be completed in one to two years.