JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Housing Trust Group has secured financing and broken ground on Normandy Cove, a 144-unit affordable housing community on the Westside that will reserve half its apartments for active-duty military members and veterans.
The development at 7375 Sheldon Drive will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments reserved for income-qualifying residents earning 30%, 60% and 70% of the area median income, with monthly rents ranging about $470 to $1,716. HTG said recent market data show Duval County’s population grew nearly 5 percent over the past four years, with average asking rents in the submarket topping $1,500.
Half of Normandy Cove’s units will be set aside for active-duty service members and veterans, including a 5 percent set-aside for veterans experiencing homelessness. HTG is partnering with local organizations Hope4Veterans Inc. and I.M. Sulzebacher Center for the Homeless to reach prospective residents and provide supportive services such as employment assistance, financial management, homeownership opportunities and veteran-focused programming.
Officials celebrated the groundbreaking this week, highlighting the project’s focus on providing affordable housing options for military families in a city with a large veteran population.
“These are people that have served our country,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said. “They really should not have to worry about whether they can afford housing when they come back from serving our country.”
The site presented unique challenges because it is located directly behind Edward White High School. To access the property, the developer worked with Duval County Public Schools to create an easement connecting the site to nearby roads.
Housing Trust Group Senior Vice President Jason Larson said the school district played a critical role in making the project possible.
“We were really dependent on the school board to give us access to the site,” Larson said. “The school board was really instrumental in making all this happen.”
The City of Jacksonville also contributed $1.5 million through its Revolving Loan Fund to help finance the development.
Joshua Hicks, the city’s affordable housing director, said the public investment was necessary to keep rents affordable.
“Without the gap financing, they’re going to have to charge more for the rent,” Hicks said. “Being able to create affordable housing means we need that public-private partnership to be able to lower those rents to where we need them to be to be truly an affordable project.”
The city’s contribution is structured as a low-interest loan that will be repaid over 20 years. Once repaid, the funds can be recycled into future affordable housing developments.
According to city officials, the project will include between 30 and 40 units reserved for households earning 30% of the area median income. Rents for those apartments are expected to be less than $500 per month.
“Normandy Cove is a direct response to the housing mismatch in Jacksonville, where service members and working families are increasingly being priced out of the communities they serve,” said Matthew A. Rieger, president and CEO of Housing Trust Group. “By partnering with local veteran service organizations and the Duval County School Board, we’ve been able to transform a complex site into a sanctuary that offers more than just a roof — it offers stability, dignity and specialized support for those who have served.”
Normandy Cove is financed with $20.8 million in 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity allocated by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and syndicated by Raymond James; a $27.5 million construction loan from TD Bank; a $16.4 million permanent loan from Berkadia through Freddie Mac; an $11 million State Apartment Incentive Loan from FHFC; $1.5 million in gap funding from the City of Jacksonville Housing and Community Development Department Revolving Loan Fund; and $500,000 in gap funding and tax-exempt bond financing from the Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority.
Apartments will feature quartz countertops, luxury vinyl plank flooring and modern appliances. Community amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, business center, multipurpose clubhouse, outdoor amenity deck and dedicated office and meeting space for veteran service providers. HTG said the development will receive National Green Building Standard certification.
A second phase planned at Normandy Cove would add 99 units, bringing the total to 243 residences.
The site is minutes from I-295 and I-10 and close to retail along Normandy Boulevard. Normandy Cove is about 20 minutes from downtown Jacksonville, 20 minutes from Naval Air Station Jacksonville and about 45 minutes from Mayport Naval Station and U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command.
Design and construction partners include FK Architects (architect and interior designer), BDI Construction (general contractor) and NV5 Inc. (civil engineer).
Normandy Cove is Housing Trust Group’s first affordable housing community in the Jacksonville area. HTG said it is also advancing plans for Duval 212, an 85-unit project in downtown Jacksonville in partnership with a local nonprofit and city agencies aimed at turning underused church and city land into mixed-income, mixed-use development.