County director details gap-financing awards, flood-recovery allocations and site plans for mixed-use and for-sale housing

Darby delivered the directors report to the council, summarizing recent county funding decisions and progress on county-owned development sites.

Among grant and financing updates, Darby said the county's gap-financing awards (referred to in the meeting as an expiring TIF program) went to four properties in Highland, Pompano Beach, Oakland Park and Fort Lauderdale; the combined award covers 732 units, of which 712 were described as affordable. He also said the county set aside $5 million for affordable housing purchase assistance (broken into smaller lots and per-commissioner allocations) and a separate $1 million for the Broward Municipal Services District.

Darby reported plans to resubmit a CDBG-DR action plan to HUD over the summer, with allocations that include roughly $12.5 million for projects over 70 units, $5 million coupled with $1 million in TIP money for projects under 70 units, $3 million for home repair related to 2023 flood damage, and $6 million for infrastructure and resiliency projects.

On county-owned parcels, Darby said the Thirsten property (27th Avenue) is under contract for a mixed-use project expected to yield roughly 42 units with about 5,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. He said the county also acquired seven adjacent lots along 27th Avenue that may be combined into a mixed mid-rise with townhomes on the adjacent parcels. Darby said the site rebranded as "Rock Island Homes" could accommodate about 36 for-sale family homes and is moving through environmental monitoring and request-for-application planning.

Darby asked council members to review posted materials (including an annual report and posted resources) and invited follow-up questions about funding and procurement steps.