Housing Trust Group has completed Flagler Station, a 94-unit affordable housing community in West Palm Beach, Fla. The City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County were part of the public-private partnership that developed the $33 million project.
Corwil Architects served as the main architect, with Rinaldi Construction acting as the general contractor. WGI was the engineer and landscape designer, while B. Pila Designs provided interior design services.
Flagler Station is located at 991 Banyan Blvd., one block from the city’s TriRail/Amtrak station, and five blocks from the Brightline commuter rail station. As the first new affordable property built in the city’s downtown in the past 30 years, the community serves residents earning at 30, 60, 70 or 80 percent of the area median income.
Financing for the eight-story project included:
- $23.2 million in 9 percent low-income housing tax credits through the Florida Housing Finance Corp. purchased by CREA;
- a $20.3 million construction loan from KeyBank;
- an $8.9 permanent loan through Freddie Mac;
- a $75,000 City of West Palm Beach loan;
- a $314,446 Palm Beach County grant;
- a $550,000 HOME loan from Palm Beach County.
The property encompasses one- to three-bedroom floorplans, ranging between 548 and 1,151 square feet. Common-area amenities include a swimming pool, a fitness center, a business center, a 3,200-square-foot clubroom, controlled access and approximately 80 parking spaces. The units feature washers and dryers, efficient appliances and patios or balconies.
A rails-to-trails conversion project
Flagler Station was named after Henry Flagler, a 19th-century industrialist who built the Florida East Coast Railway. Some of the original FECR tracks have been integrated into the development as part of a linear park. This rails-to-trails conversion supports the transportation and mobility plan adopted by the city in 2018.
Flagler Station is located at 991 Banyan Blvd., one block from the city’s TriRail/Amtrak station and five blocks from the Brightline commuter rail station.
HTG and Corwil Architects chose both contemporary and historic aesthetics for the Flagler Station project. Corwil also provided design services for University Station, HTG’s $100 million, fully affordable development in Hollywood, Fla. The project is set to include 216 units, as well as Barry University’s College of Nursing and Health Services. HTG is also working on an affordable project in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
