Carrfour, Green Mills Complete Miami Affordable Housing

Carrfour Supportive Housing and Green Mills Group have opened Karis Village, an 88-unit affordable housing development at 11885 SW 216th St. in Miami’s Goulds neighborhood. The property is for low-income and formerly homeless families, with about half of its units set aside for at-risk veterans transitioning from life on the streets.

Units range from studios to two bedrooms. Common amenities include a children’s playground, library, computer lab, fitness center and an outdoor barbecue and patio area. The community is also certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition, and is equipped with solar panels, low VOC paint, low-flow bathroom fixtures, and Energy Star-certified kitchen appliances, ceiling fans and light fixtures.

Trinity Empowerment Consortium, a local HUD-affiliated agency that provides pre- and post-homebuyer education and financial literacy education, will occupy 3,000 square feet on Karis Village’s ground floor for its Miami headquarters. The office will be open to the public.

Housing for Veterans

Seventy-four of Karis Village’s units are for residents earning at or below 60 percent of area median income, which is about $31,700 a year, with the remaining 14 units reserved for those earning at or below 33 percent of the AMI, or about $17,500. Among the community’s 135 residents are dozens of veterans who were formerly trapped in cycles of homelessness and drug addiction. Karis Village can accept residents with Section 8 or Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers.

Financing for the property is a complicated mix, as usual for affordable development. Capital One Bank provided $8.5 million in construction financing, while Florida Housing Finance Corp. added a $4.3 million loan to go along with an issuance of more than $18.1 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

Hudson Housing Capital served as the tax credit syndicator and was an equity provider for the project. Carrfour received additional funding for supportive services and rental assistance for formerly homeless households through the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust’s HUD Continuum of Care and the City of Miami Beach Housing Authority’s project-based VASH program, with services provided by the VA.

Karis Village is managed by Crossroads Management Inc., a property management subsidiary of Carrfour Supportive Housing. Carrfour is Florida’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, while Green Mills Group is a specialist in sustainable multifamily development.