Carrfour Supportive Housing, Florida’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, has teamed up with Green Mills Group, one of the state’s leading “green” multifamily development firms, to deliver much-needed permanent housing in south Miami-Dade County with the launch of the Karis Village affordable housing complex.
The new $30 million development, now open at 11885 SW 216 St. in Goulds, consists of 88 apartments designated for low-income and formerly homeless families, with approximately half of its units set aside for at-risk veterans transitioning from life on the streets.
Seventy four of Karis Village’s units are earmarked for tenants earning at or below 60 percent of HUD’s area median income (AMI), which is equivalent to about $31,700 a year, with the remaining 14 units reserved for those earning at or below 33 percent of the AMI, or about $17,500 a year.
Among the community’s 135 residents are dozens of American military veterans who served their country before falling into cycles of homelessness and drug addiction. Karis Village is able to accept residents with Section 8 or Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers.
“Karis Village provides a safe, permanent home as well as a full complement of supportive services for some of our community’s most vulnerable residents, including veterans and their families,” said Stephanie Berman, president and CEO of Carrfour Supportive Housing.
With units ranging in size from studios to two-bedroom, Karis Village offers amenities including a children’s playground, library, computer lab, fitness center and an outdoor barbecue and patio area. The community also is certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition, equipped with solar panels, low VOC paint, low-flow bathroom fixtures, and Energy Star-certified kitchen appliances, ceiling fans and light fixtures.
Trinity Empowerment Consortium, a local HUD-affiliated agency that provides comprehensive pre- and post-homebuyer education and financial literacy education, will occupy 3,000 square feet of ground-floor community service space at the building for its Miami headquarters. The office will be open to the public.
Karis Village is managed by Crossroads Management Inc., a property management subsidiary of Carrfour Supportive Housing. The community offers a variety of on-site supportive services aimed at helping residents achieve independence, including literacy training, employment assistance and counseling, health and wellness services, financial management and case management.
Capital One Bank NA provided $8.5 million in construction financing, while Florida Housing Finance Corporation added a $4.3 million SAIL loan to go along with an issuance of $18,146,685 in Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Hudson Housing Capital LLC served as the tax credit syndicator and was an equity provider for the project.
Carrfour received additional funding for supportive services and rental assistance for formerly homeless households through the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust’s HUD Continuum of Care and the City of Miami Beach Housing Authority’s project-based VASH program, with services provided by the Veteran’s Administration (VA).
Carrfour has a 25-year history developing and operating supportive housing in Miami-Dade County for the community’s most vulnerable populations, including veterans with special needs and the chronically homeless. Over the past two decades, Carrfour has successfully assembled hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, tax credits and subsidies to develop and manage more than 2,000 affordable/supportive units in 17 housing communities across South Florida. The organization currently has another three communities in development set to d
Carrfour Supportive Housing is a nonprofit organization established in 1993 by the Homeless Committee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. Carrfour develops, operates and manages innovative housing communities for individuals and families in need through a unique approach combining affordable housing with comprehensive, on-site supportive services. As the leading not-for-profit provider of supportive housing in Florida, Carrfour has supplied homes for more than 10,000 formerly homeless men, women and children since its founding. Learn more at www.carrfour.org.
