Heart of Boynton to get apartments

Builder gets tax credit to build affordable-rent complex on Seacrest.

BOYNTON BEACH — After more than a decade of failed attempts to develop a vacant plot of land in the Heart of Boynton, a Miami Lakes based developer has cleared a major hurdle on its way to breaking ground on an affordable apartment complex.

Centennial Management Corp. has been awarded a 9 percent low-income housing tax credit to develop the 4.32-acre plot on 700 N. Seacrest Blvd. known as Ocean Breeze East. The company plans to start construction by this time next year.

“We have been looking forward to this day for a long time,” Centennial Management CEO Lewis Swezy said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of the new and exciting plans for the city of Boynton Beach. We have been in business for over 37 years and take pride in building beautiful communities and providing affordable housing.”

The project is expected to break ground by July 2019.

Numerous companies have tried to develop the land using money from the low-income tax credit, but it is the first company working on the project to actually be awarded the incentive by the state’s Housing Finance Corp.

If Centennial had not gotten approval for the tax credit program, the project might have had to depend on the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency money.

The tax credits will save the CRA millions of dollars for Ocean Breeze East. Previous proposals that didn’t rely on the state’s tax incentives required several million dollars from the CRA to build.

But with this state approval, the CRA is shelling out only $567,500, which is the local government contribution needed in the state application. Centennial paid the CRA $800,000 for the development site. That leaves about $232,500 that the CRA can spend on other

redevelopment in the Heart of Boynton, City Commissioner Justin Katz said.

CRA Executive Director Michael Simon said the tax incentive will allow his organization to invest millions in other projects around the city over the next decade.

“The CRA was fully committed to fifinancially assisting OBEAL [Centennial Management Corp.] to complete this important housing project if we were unsuccessful during this application cycle. By receiving the 9 percent LIHTC funding award, millions of CRA dollars can now be used on other priorit y projects throughout the CRA boundary area over the next 10 years,” he said.

Boynton Beach Commissioner Joe Casello said the new development has been a long time coming.

“We’ve been trying for years to get new develop

ment in the Heart of Boynton, and it’s fifinally starting to pay offffffffffff,” he said. “This is going to be a catalyst to really jump-start the area.”

The developer plans to build 123 apartments that will have affffffffffffordable rents. There will also be about 1,000 square feet of “flex space” that will be used as a community space and an offiffice for the Neighborhood Offifficer Program assigned to the community. As part of the agreement with the CRA, Centennial has to give a priority to hiring local contractors for construction.

When the CRA board chose Centennial for the site over other companies in August 2017, the group estimated rents:

■ A one-bedroom, one- bath unit would be $ 392 or $782 depending on whether the resident is at 33 percent of median income or 60 percent.

■ A 2/2 would be $469 or $937.

■ A 3/2 would be $ 535 or $1,075.

“This is going to be a good thing for the Heart of Boynton and for District II,” said Commissioner Mack McCray, whose district is home to Ocean Breeze East. “But it’s not only good for District II, it’s good for the entire city of Boynton Beach.”

The development company will also begin a sevento-nine-month-long underwriting process with the state, during which time it

will also complete and submit site plans and designs to the city.