League of Women Voters to host discussion on the affordable housing crisis
Affordable housing is a concern in Winter Park, where officials have discussed transforming the old library into workforce apartments
The Orange County League of Women Voters will host a panel on affordable housing solutions for the region this week as Central Florida continues to see soaring rents and property values that price even middle-class families out of homes in some areas.
“Give Me Shelter: Innovative Solutions to Our Housing Crises” is the latest in the league’s popular “Hot Topics” series and will begin at 11:30 on Wednesday at the Winter Park Events Center. Register here.
Panelists include Terry Prather, senior advisor to Lift Orlando, Ryan Von Weller, chief operating officer for Wendover Housing Partners, and Mitchell Glasser, Housing and Community Development manager for Orange County. Beth Kassab, editor of the Winter Park Voice, will moderate.
“Low wages, a shortage of apartments and rising rents create a perfect storm for workers, their families and others who live on fixed incomes,” reads a description of the event. “What is being done long-term to provide the kind of communities where people can live? The panelists will provide examples of two innovative solutions to housing and how they work with the community and local government.”
This week the Winter Park City Commission will hear from residents at two meetings where the fate of the old library is on the agenda. At least one potential proposal by a local developer calls for the city to trade the library property for the Bank of the Ozarks property, which would allow the old library land to be transformed into, at least in part, workforce housing.
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By: Beth Kassab
No biography available at this time
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League of Women Voters is a front for developer interests.
Whenever you see the word “crisis” used by LWVOC , hang on to your wallet and quality of life.
Because League of Women voters is coming after both.
City of Winter Park manages and owns nearly 800 below market rental units! Please direct me to one other comparably sized city in USA that has any number close. 600 of these are “workforce” units. But I digress….
It’s ironic as “heck” that this commission absolutely refuses to consider allowing any development of Orange Ave Overlay district to include workforce housing. Give a developer an extra floor or two and in return, a portion of the building has to be below market rents. How hard is this? Sell the old library and please don’t junk up that area with crappy apartments and herbal massage parlors or some other wacky idea.
Herbal massage parlors? Kind sir, where are they? And will it help my aching back?
Your back, your feet and most importantly, your mind. I’d go into further details, but this is not the forum for that type of info.
Beth, you pander to the sentiment of the moment. The voter referendum in rent control (now stopped) was promoted with big dollars by hotel and other tourist interests (look it up). The problem is not so much “affordable housing.” It is employers looking to pay their works less than an affordable wage.