New Affordable Housing Option in Jacksonville Beach

4-16-2021
Anne Hammock
Florida Times-Union
link to full article - Florida Times-Union

More than 30 people recently gathered to celebrate the grand opening of The Waves at Jacksonville Beach, a $30 million revamp of the public housing located on South Ninth Street between Shetter Avenue and Fifth Avenue South that included the construction of 127 new residential units and the renovation of 89 existing homes. 

"This is a huge departure from the public housing units that proceeded them," said Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman.  

Hoffman, along with Jacksonville Housing Authority (JHA) Interim CEO Dwayne Alexander, JHA Board member Roslyn Mixon-Phillips, spoke briefly to the crowd - along with The Waves resident Chrishalin Butler. 

"I was a victim of a lot of things young people fall short of and found myself in an abusive situation, at which time I lost my place of shelter with no job and two kids to care for ... and in the middle of the coronavirus," she said. "But the process to get a new home here moved very quickly. I want to thank you a lot and let you know how much you blessed me with a new place to live." 

The Jacksonville Beach Public Housing Project first opened to provide homes for low-income residents back in 1962.  

"This is truly a great day, when we can celebrate changing this nearly 60-year-old project into the beautiful, modern facility you see here today," Alexander said. "It's also a great example of what can occur when a good public-private partnership is in place." 

JHA co-developed the project with TVC Development Inc., the affordable housing subsidiary of Jacksonville-based The Vestcor Companies. Work on the project began in late 2019. 

April 16, 2021
EDTBy ActionNewsJax.com News Staff
Link to full article at ActionNewsJax.com

Jacksonville Beach, FL - There's a new affordable housing option in Jacksonville Beach.

The Jacksonville Housing Authority held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 2 officially unveiling its new 127 unit housing project called The Waves.

Chrishalia Butler, a renter who had previously been homeless, told Action News Jax how the property has changed her life.

She said, "God blessed me. God literally blessed me. I'm able to provide for my kids now and I have a roof over my head, and be comfortable knowing that I could literally still be out there in the streets."

JHA worked with Vestor to make the $17.5 million project possible.