PALATKA, Fla. – A growing housing trend in Northeast Florida is expanding beyond single-family subdivisions and into manufactured housing, as developers look to meet demand from renters priced out of homeownership.
In Palatka, land clearing is expected to begin within 60 days for The Cove at Silver Lake Mobile Home Park, a 56-unit community of newly built manufactured homes — all available for rent.
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“We’ve been working on this development for about two and a half years now,” said Apryle Melvin of KOP Realty, the developer behind the project. “Now that we finally have the green light and everything’s been approved, we’re ready to roll on it.”
Unlike traditional mobile home parks, where residents may own their homes, every unit at The Cove will be built from the ground up and leased to tenants, reflecting the broader “built-to-rent” model that has gained traction across the region.
Melvin said the focus is on what she calls “attainable” pricing with rents set below the area’s typical rates.
“The average rent in Palatka, you’re looking between $1,400 and $1,800, depending,” she said. “With us being a little bit below the market rate, it’s just more attainable.”
Two-bedroom homes will start at $1,000 a month, while three-bedroom units will begin at $1,150, according to the developer.
Melvin said demand for new construction rentals remains strong, especially as rising home prices and higher borrowing costs keep many families out of the buying market.
“If they were looking to buy a house, the same house they could have gotten for $150,000 in 2019 is now $340,000,” she said. “It just outpriced everyone for the most part. So we focus on attainable homes.”
At the neighboring property next door, Silver Lake Oaks, they’re already operating under a similar model and renters said affordability was the primary draw.
“Oh yeah. Absolutely,” said Shelby Langford, when asked whether cost played a role in her decision to rent. “It’s just so hard to get into a rental, first month, last month, and just the haggle and everything. It’s just terrible.”
Andrew Powell, another renter, said reasonably priced options do not stay available for long.
“The way the housing market is, it’s starting to turn over, but you get something that’s pretty affordable and you can’t pass it by,” Powell said.
Langford added that rental homes can offer more space and amenities than similarly priced apartments.
“We pay a very good price, and getting an apartment is very expensive and you’re not getting the space, you’re not getting the community, you’re not getting the views,” she said.
Melvin said one renovated four-bedroom, two-bath home on a neighboring built-to-rent property is leasing for $1,500 a month and has been completely updated, from plumbing and electrical systems to appliances.
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In Putnam County and surrounding areas, rents surged in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, mirroring statewide and national trends. Developers say that has shifted more residents toward renting as homeownership becomes increasingly out of reach.
“Rents pre-COVID versus now, there was a huge price hike in everything,” Melvin said. “Housing isn’t the only thing that has risen in cost.”
She said the goal is to ease some of that burden for local families.
“You’re not going to have to choose between paying your rent and eating your food,” Melvin said. “We’re not a big corporation. We’re moms, we’re daughters. We get it.”
Construction at The Cove at Silver Lake is expected to wrap up by late June, with applications anticipated to open in May. You can find more info about the community here.