Affordable Housing Isn’t Cheap

This is the first in a series about the crisis of affordable housing in Collier County and the solutions. 

Oxygen tubes dangled from his face toward a box on his hip as he held two black trash bags of his belongings, visibly daunted by the efforts of moving into Collier County’s newest senior affordable housing center.  

Don Manley, 68, is a long-time local news reporter. He was among the first people to move into one of the newest affordable housing complexes in Collier County - Ekos at Allegro on Rattlesnake Hammock in East Naples. Manley was moving items on the same day that a press conference and grand opening were being held to celebrate the complex. 

“Who’s running the county? Everyone is here,” joked Rick LoCastro, Collier County Commissioner representing District 1, including Marco Island.  

 Manley paused and eyed the crowd. 

“I had wanted to attend this,” Manley said as he stood on the curb, observing the dignitaries, politicians, and housing industry leaders gathered for the ribbon cutting near the front doors.  

Manley is one of thousands of people in Collier County challenged by escalating housing costs coinciding with economic inflation. Add hurricanes, family death, and health problems, and it all pushed Manley to living on the brink of collapse.  

He is a cancer survivor whose long-time girlfriend died suddenly several months ago. The cost of shared rent on Marco Island was a challenge for the couple and became nearly impossible for him to manage on his own following her passing.  

Manley once woke to a view of the water from his Marco Island rental and now has a banister overlooking another nearby housing development in East Naples.  

Suddenly single and managing COPD, Manley struggles to get enough oxygen as he sorts his late girlfriend’s belongings and his own. It’s nearly all he can do to keep writing local news articles while moving from Marco Island to the fourth-floor Ekos apartment.  

About Ekos at Allegro 

Ekos at Allegro is designed to meet the needs of Naples-area residents, earning between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area’s median income, according to a public statement by the developers. 

The complex includes 160 apartments in one- and two-bedroom configurations, specifically catering to residents 62 years of age and above.  

The five-story community’s amenities include a community garden, swimming pool, fitness center, grilling stations, a dog run, and a computer lab, among others. 

The developer is McDowell Housing Partners, an affiliate of McDowell Properties, a national developer and investor of affordable and workforce housing. The overall construction costs totaled approximately $45 million, officials with McDowell reported. 

“Our firm is dedicated to providing seniors with safe and modern housing where they can both thrive and receive the care they deserve,” said Ted Hunton, managing principal and owner of FK Architecture, the design firm. 

During the press conference on November 4, officials reported that the complex will include a lunchtime meal five days each week for tenants and access to medical care on site.  

Manley has yet to hear the details to take advantage of those features as of December, he said.  

Affordable Housing Application Process 

Manley first began seeking affordable housing options in February 2024. He did not anticipate it taking until October to receive a move-in date or that once approved, it would have to then occur so quickly that he’d have to pay rent in two places, he said.  

The communication challenges caused Manley stress that he hoped to help others avoid in the future, he said.  

Budgeting and scheduling his move could have gone more smoothly, Manley suggested and smiled.  

Manley was grasping with a desire to express gratitude for the housing help as he gasped for a breath. 

Manley, like many people, nearly slipped through the cracks to obtaining housing based on the application process.  

“What’s frustrating is we’ve had a number of clients referred to the new communities opening up, and many times they’re either making too little money or they’re making a few dollars more than the upper level, and they get kicked out of the system,” said Jaclynn Faffer, President and CEO of Baker Senior Center Naples. 

Unlike Section 8 housing, which alters rent amounts based on income, Collier County’s affordable housing system is based on meeting a specific percentage of the median area income. In this case, Manley needs to meet 60 percent of the median area income. However, he never knew that, nor did he know what that dollar amount was, he said. 

The Ekos property managers allowed Manley to update his application, amending his income twice after miscommunications about precisely how much the freelance writer would likely earn in the coming months. This process delayed Manley’s acceptance. 

While many freelance writers and contractors in numerous fields of work have variable incomes week-to-week, month-to-month, and year-to-year, the affordable housing process in Collier County requires an exact income amount, in this case, 60 percent of median area income. Median area income is set by U.S. Housing and Urban Development and updated annually.  

The rents are not adjusted based on income the way they are in Section 8 housing, which was unknown to Manley at the outset, he said.  

Collier County Housing Alliance 

One area agency is hoping to become the go-to source for people seeking affordable housing to help prevent the challenges Manley, Baker Senior Center clients and others have experienced.  

The application process is challenging, and the financial estimates can be daunting even for experienced accountants, housing officials have said.  

The Housing Alliance has several resources to help applicants qualify in the most efficient ways so that fewer people are delayed or risk getting kicked out of the system or falling between the cracks, said Michael Puchalla, executive director and CEO of the Housing Alliance, a Collier County-based nonprofit. 

The Housing Alliance works with the Housing Development Corporation of Southwest Florida (HELP), which is a HUD-approved nonprofit helping people with financial counseling and finding affordable housing, and the Collier County Community Land Trust, which seeks to acquire land suitable for future affordable housing development, among other community partners. 

Thus far, affordable home ownership outside of Habitat for Humanity has been scarce, housing officials said. But the Housing Alliance seeks to get more people into home ownership in the future. 

Affordable Housing Options Are Not Cheap 

Even with assistance from Collier County Housing Alliance and other partners, affordable housing isn’t always affordable to the people living there.  

In many cases, affordable housing units are still renting for more than $1,000 each month, and some for more than $2,000 per month, depending on their size. For many people applying for the homes, this will account for more than 25 to 30 percent of their income and prices out seniors who are on social security and are no longer able to work. Generally, financial experts recommend spending no more than 30 percent of pre-tax income on housing. But fewer people than ever are able to keep their housing costs below 50 percent of their gross income in Collier County housing officials report. 

Despite these likelihoods, there are a few units, according to Ekos’ affordable housing websites, with monthly rents less than $500. 

The affordable housing rates in Collier County prevent many of the tenants from having any money to put aside for home ownership or large expenses, such as automobile repairs or replacements, healthcare, full or partial retirement, and other needs, they said.  

According to the U.S. Census Bureau statistics released in 2023, the median household income in Collier County in 2022 was $82,011 with median individual income estimated at $56,666. HUD median area income is currently more than $100,000 for a family of four, Puchalla said.  

Based on US Census Bureau figures, individuals would be able to sustainably budget with housing costs between $1,180 and $1,560 each month. However, there are few rentals available at these rates in 2024.  

Further, the strain is greater at the HUD area median income rates used by affordable housing officials in Collier County. 

So, even a person who earns 80 percent of the US Census Bureau’s area median income, approximately $45,333 per year, would require housing costs of $1,133 each month, and ideally less, to budget sustainably.  

Using HUD’s median area income can make an even larger income-to-housing cost gap for many people. 

Health challenges, medical expenses, hurricane repairs and/or recent family deaths are just some of the variables that could - and has - quickly put many individuals and households into homelessness.  

“Income-restricted units aren’t necessarily affordable to the people living there,” acknowledged Puchalla. 

The Housing Alliance is a hub for all people involved in affordable housing – from the people looking to provide solutions to the people looking for assistance. The Housing Alliance can be reached by visiting online at HousingAlliance.org or calling 239-434-2397 or by email at info@thehousingalliance.org. The Housing Alliance is located at 3200 Bailey Lane, Suite 109, in Naples, off Airport Pulling Road, north of Golden Gate Parkway.