Affiliated Development Begins $81M South Florida Project

The Grand. Rendering courtesy of Affiliated Development

Affiliated Development has started building The Grand, a mixed-income workforce housing property in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. The firm closed on a $53 million first mortgage from Bank United, and also received an investment from Affiliated Housing Impact Fund LP and a private family office.

The $81 million project previously received $15 million in financing from the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and the City of West Palm Beach Department of Housing and Community Development.

The Grand will be erected on Rosemary Avenue, between Second and Third streets. The community will provide Class A housing at affordable rates. Two-thirds of the property will be reserved for persons in diverse income brackets, starting at 80 percent of the area median income. The Grand is scheduled for completion in spring 2023.

The eight-story building will comprise 301 one- and two-bedroom apartments, along with nine three-bedroom townhomes. The community will be convenient to a plethora of shopping and dining options within walking distance. The Brightline transit and West Palm Beach Tri-rail stations are less than a half-mile away from The Grand, providing transit options to Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando.

South Florida boom

Moss & Associates is leading construction for the project and MSA Architecture serves as the designer. Affiliated Development has more than 1,000 workforce units in the pipeline across South Florida. The firm’s $125 million Affiliated Housing Impact Fund LP—launched in 2020—provides financing for workforce housing projects and investments.

West Palm Beach and other South Florida markets are seeing an influx of new residents who are fleeing high-cost cities for Florida’s low-tax environment and year-round warm climate. During the first half of the year, the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton area represented $797 million of total multifamily sales in Miami, according to Yardi Matrix data.  

Thanks to its business-friendly climate, South Florida is also attracting a wave of business interest, with companies in large, expensive markets like New York City looking to expand in or relocate to the state.