More Than 800 Families Apply For New Affordable Housing Complex In Bradenton

BRADENTON, FL — A new affordable housing complex in Bradenton, which held its ribbon cutting Thursday, filled all of its 92 units quickly.

More than 800 families signed up before Sandpiper Place Apartments, located at 4605 26th Street W., even opened its application process, the developer, Blue Sky Communities, shared on its Facebook page.

“Happy to report that we are already full!” Blue Sky wrote in a post Friday.

NDC Construction Company, which built Sandpiper Place, broke ground on the project in June 2020. The development has several three-story, garden-style buildings, a clubhouse, pool and playgrounds, and many units have a lake view.

Geared toward working families, the complex offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The maximum income limits range from $43,280 for a one-person household to $71,680 for a six-person household. Initial rental rates range from $436 to $1,501 monthly.

“My job is to help local governments achieve their own goals in the area of affordable housing,” Shawn Wilson, president and CEO, said. “We participated with folks at Manatee County on several panels and we became aware of the kind of projects they wanted to target. With this information, we created Sandpiper Place. As Blue Sky’s first venture in Manatee County, we are thrilled with their cooperation and forward thinking.”

Based in Tampa, Blue Sky formed in 2012 and has completed 11 affordable housing developments in Florida.

Sandpiper Place, a multifamily rental housing complex, was developed with support from Manatee County government, which provided a $354,000 initial investment in the project, the developer said in a news release. The funds were provided through the Southwest County Improvement District, which was created by the county to redevelop and carry out various projects in Manatee County’s urban area.

That initial investment from the county helped the development qualify for extra points on its major funding application to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation in 2019, Blue Sky said. This resulted in FHFC investing nearly $15 million in the project.

“We helped collaborate in funding this beautiful property,” FHFC shared on its Facebook page about Thursday’s ribbon cutting. “We love what we do.”

Additional financing came from JP Morgan Chase and Raymond James service as its corporate investor.