As clouds gave way to sunlight on a chilly morning, Jacksonville’s Ability Housing debuted the city’s newest affordable housing development in the Westside on Dec. 9.
The development, Village at Cedar Hills, offers 90 units for rent, with most of its units already reserved. The $30.7 million project, which broke ground in 2024, comprises 36 one-bedroom units, 45 two-bedroom units, nine three-bedroom units and a community center.
It is at 5051 Harlow Blvd., northeast of the 103rd Street interchange at Interstate 295.
“We do this work not because it’s easy, but (because) it’s so hard and it’s so needed and it’s so impactful,” said Reggie Fullwood, chair of Ability Housing’s board of directors, during an opening event.
“We know affordability and housing is such a major issue in our country, especially in our state and our city. Projects like this make it better.”
Ability Housing, a Jacksonville-based nonprofit, owns 11 completed developments in Duval, Orange and Osceola counties, according to its website. It houses 1,888 residents and has three projects in development.
Rents at the Village at Cedar Hills are based on household size and income, Ability Housing said. They are about $500 for a one-bedroom unit for a household earning 30% or less of area median income, up to about $1,380 for a three-bedroom unit for a household earning as much as 60% of area median income.
The property’s community center will include on-site leasing offices, a computer lab, a library, space for workshop events, and an outdoor playground, fitness equipment and a walking track.
Ability Housing’s leaders said the project, which serves as a pilot program, will help with Jacksonville’s indigent care needs. The nonprofit will grant 18 units to residents who rely on emergency, in-patient and acute-services care. Those residents will be provided on-site case workers in an effort to keep them out of Jacksonville’s hospitals.
Those 18 renters will be placed with Ability Housing through LSF Health Systems, a Jacksonville-based not-for-profit managing entity that works to provide health care for uninsured or underinsured people facing poverty.
“Housing is health care,” LSF Executive Vice President Christine Cauffield said. “If you don’t have a roof over your head, and you have a disability, you are struggling with a mental health challenge – you’re not going to be able to really focus on your treatment plan and your medication management and all that’s needed to keep you stable.”
The property will provide six units reserved for individuals or families exiting homelessness.
While not all of the units are leased, Fullwood said a high percentage had been reserved. The units had 200 applicants seeking to fill the 90 units.
Speakers at the Dec. 9 event highlighted Jacksonville’s need for affordable housing. Fullwood noted that according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there are only 33 available housing units available in Florida per 100 renter households that earn 50% or lower of area median income.
“We simply have to do better, and we are doing better,” Mayor Donna Deegan said. “We’ve got to make housing more affordable, keep building solutions that meet people where they are.”
The Florida Housing Finance Corp. awarded more than $9 million in funding for the project, the city of Jacksonville provided a $1 million grant and the Local Initiatives Support Corp. provided $50,000.
Group 4 Design Inc. was the project architect, Elkins Construction LLC was the general contractor and Kennedy Civil Services was the civil engineer.
With 10 of its developments located in Jacksonville, Ability Housing is seeking to expand its reach across Florida, Fullwood said. Up next for the organization is a ribbon-cutting ceremony in West St. Augustine.
“Jacksonville is home base, but our goal is to help as many people as we can around the state of Florida,” Fullwood said. “We really look at ourselves as a headquartered-in-Jacksonville state agency that’s trying to address the issues of homelessness.”
