A 1979 apartment complex in unincorporated Hillsborough County is being held up as a model for preserving rural rental housing. It also shows how much federal money it takes to do so.
North Grove Manor, a 31-unit property, was preserved with roughly $4.1 million in federal financing. That included $2.5 million in housing tax credits and a $1.6 million loan from USDA Rural Development. That comes to about $132,000 in federal support per apartment, though the USDA portion is a loan rather than a grant. Residents also receive USDA rental assistance and pay about $250 a month in rent on average.
The neighborhood has changed since the 1980s, when much of Seffner was rural and ringed by pastureland. Growth has since pushed up housing costs, and residents say affordable options have become scarce.
Milagros Toro, a 14-year resident, said market rents nearby are out of reach. “You might as well be a house with that,” she said. Neighbor Melissa Bonner said the assistance takes away a major source of daily stress.
The property was a topic at the Florida Council for Affordable and Rural Housing’s annual conference. Kevin Flynn, president of Flynn Management Corporation, which manages North Grove Manor, said preserving existing affordable housing has grown harder. He said any state or federal dollars make a real difference to these communities.
The council says 13,000 USDA-financed apartments nationwide are aging and at risk of losing their affordability as federal mortgages expire. Colleen Fisher, the council’s executive director, said the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act expanded USDA programs to address the problem. Under the old rules, Section 521 rental assistance ended when the underlying Section 515 mortgage matured or was paid off. Fisher called the new approach “decoupling,” saying it lets landlords keep properties affordable.
Participation is voluntary. A landlord who leaves the USDA program can return a property to market-rate rents. Displaced tenants would become eligible for vouchers to use at other rental properties, which are another form of federal subsidy.
For Toro, the stakes are personal. Without her apartment, she said, she would likely have to move in with relatives.
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