After a long wait, 156 new affordable apartment units are now open within walking distance of Orange County’s Barnett Park.
The site first went under contract 10 years ago, according to Jeff Kiss, co-founder of the Orlando-based Banyan Development Group. Getting the project financed and built from there was challenging, up until the very end — with several move-in delays for residents over the last six months.
“We had hoped to have this grand opening a while ago. … We had to delay the residents moving in many times,” Kiss said at the community’s ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.
Ultimately, though, Barnett Villas came to life as a “true” community, one that all project partners and residents can be proud of, Kiss said. “I think that's what we're trying to build here, is something that improves not only their [the residents'] lives, but also the lives of Central Floridians and the county in general.”
Most successful affordable housing projects in Florida rely heavily on support and investment from local governments, according to Kiss and Florida Housing Finance Corporation board member Ron Lieberman. Barnett Villas is no exception.
Residents have been moving into Barnett Villas over the past couple of months, and the community is already 100% occupied, Mayor Jerry Demings said Friday.
“That just speaks to the demand, the need, for … additional affordable housing within our community,” Demings said. “We're committed to doing that.”
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Demings cited the county’s “Housing For All” initiative, including a locally-controlled housing trust fund overwhelmingly affirmed by county voters in 2024. About 74% voted in favor of the continued existence of a trust fund “to create and preserve affordable housing,” funded in part by fees from new developments.
Housing affordability is a constant, increasingly-prominent issue in Central Florida and beyond.
Every major metropolitan area in the country has a shortage of rental homes affordable and available to the area’s lowest-income renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. But the situation is particularly dire in Orlando, which ties with Las Vegas for the most severe such shortage nationwide, according to the coalition’s latest annual report.
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Scott, who lives in and represents the surrounding Pine Hills area, said he’s grateful to all the partners who ultimately brought this project to life and view it as a worthwhile community investment.
“While there is a role to play in providing housing, there's also a role to play in being a good neighbor, and just helping people through their challenges,” Scott said.
In speaking with residents who have moved into the community so far, Scott said, he feels that’s exactly what’s happening at Barnett Villas.
“In Orange County, we have some not so great landlords. And so the things that I've heard about here is that they're treated with respect, they're treated more like neighbors and like family members, and not like just tenants,” Scott said. “And so, job well done, and thank you. Because it starts and ends at home.”
Barnett Villas residents will have access to free support services, like classes in financial literacy and first-time homeownership, through the local nonprofit Treehouse Foundation. The community was designed to be “Green Certified,” with green building features and Energy Star-rated appliances, according to Orange County.
