Delray to propose affordable housing

Phase 3 would serve low-, moderate-income families

About 50 more homes could be built in Delray Beach to help the working class find housing.

Plans for the third phase of the project known as Village Square will be submitted to City Hall in the spring, said Delray’s Housing Authority Executive Director Dorothy Ellington.

The homes would be built on three vacant acres of land adjacent to the first two phases of rental apartments and villas.

The 3-acre site was purchased for $390,000 in 2004 for the purpose of creating homeownership for lowand moderate-income families, Ellington said.

“People of the community expressed a strong desire to have us create homeownership rather than additional rental units. And, the city’s Housing Authority said it too wanted to construction to accommodate “the serious need for affordable housing,” she said.

“We believe that we can develop a very nice design with about 50 units of townhouses or condominiums,” Ellington added.

The first phase is known as The Villas at Village Square — 144 rental villas set aside for families. Those units opened in 2015. Rent starts at $800 for a one-bedroom unit and peaks at $1,200 for a four-bedroom space. Families with a Section 8 voucher will pay less of their own money because the units are subsidized.

The project also includes 84 apartments specifically reserved for lowincome senior citizens — the first affordable housing site just for Delray seniors in more than two decades. Those opened in February. Rents start at $800 for a one-bedroom unit in the section known as The Courts at Village Square.

It’s nearly impossible to find affordable housing in Delray Beach,