City Manager T. Michael Sabers told the State of the City audience that Winter Haven made progress deploying State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funds and is advancing an 80‑unit affordable housing project sponsored by the city.

Sabers said staff and the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee streamlined processes and marketing to get SHIP funds into homeowner assistance, down‑payment and rehabilitation programs faster. "When we got our first tranche of money from the state ... that money was already completely spoken for," Sabers said, adding there are waiting lists for assistance.

He said the City Commission approved sponsoring a competitive application — led by a local ministry group and Blue Sky (which previously developed the Florence Place project) — to pursue state tax incentives to build an 80‑unit affordable housing development in southwest Winter Haven. "They have plans and they're applying to the state for tax incentives that will allow them to build a new 80 unit affordable housing facility," Sabers said; he did not provide an exact construction timeline or the dollar value of incentives requested.

What’s next: Staff will work with the project sponsors on the state application and report back to the commission; Sabers said the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee helped select the project and will remain involved as it moves through state review.