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Which residents will have first dibs to live at this new West Palm Beach building?

117 units will be set asked for workforce and affordable housing

Finding an affordable place to live has become a struggle as many of you navigate rising housing costs. But if you work in West Palm Beach you'll soon have a good shot at paying cheaper rent.

By: Joel Lopez

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Finding an affordable place to live has been tough for many residents as they navigate surging costs.

"A lot of the redevelopment in a lot of areas is getting crowded and really expensive, difficult to maintain things especially when you're on your own," West Palm Beach resident Carl Dawkins.

Dawkins is a Miami native but said he moved to the Northwood Village neighborhood because of the cost of living expenses.

"Certain areas up here was cheaper. Just always have to be conscious of how I’m spending money, what I'm doing with money," Dawkins said. "We definitely do need a lot more affordable housing."

According to the Palm Beach County’s Housing Programs Dashboard, there are currently 69 completed affordable housing buildings, with a total of 6,120 units.

Miami native Carl Dawkins, a Northwood Village resident, discusses the need for affordable housing in Palm Beach County.

Sixty-two more projects are underway, including one of the newest projects called The Spruce in Northwood Village.

Construction is underway along Spruce Avenue between 24^th and 25^th streets.

The project features ground-floor commercial space as well as a parking garage with a rooftop pool that has views of the ocean and downtown.

It will have 270 units, 117 of which will be for workforce and affordable housing. According to developer Affiliated Development, 109 units will be workforce, with eight set aside for affordable housing.

The workforce units are for those who make 80-140% of the area median income. Affordable housing is 60% and below.

"I hope there’s more opportunities for the locals and people like me," Dawkins said.

Nick Rojo (left) speaks with WPTV reporter Joel Lopez about who will get the first opportunity to live at The Spruce.

WPTV reporter Joel Lopez took his concerns to Nick Rojo the president of Affiliated Development.

"What's your message to people who were hoping to apply?" asked Lopez.

"Anyone who works for the city or the county or the local municipality will have access to get that first look program that we offer," Rojo said.

It's part of their first look initiative where people who work in Palm Beach County, first responders and residents of Northwood can have first pick at the 117 units.

"There was just no general mass of housing there, so once we bring critical mass, we bring 300-350 residents to Northwood I think it's really going to help those local businesses thrive because these are people that are going to be walking to get coffee, walking to get dinner, walking to get a drink," Rojo said. "We’re really excited because I think it's going to help the community a lot."

Rojo credits cities like West Palm Beach for taking the initiative to bring 1,400 affordable and workforce units to West Palm Beach in the next eight years.

Affiliated Development also created The Grand apartment building in West Palm Beach which has workforce housing units.

Rojo said the building is fully leased.

"With this project (The Grand) and The Spruce, we want to keep helping the city meet those goals," said Rojo.

The project is expected to be completed in 2026.

"Do you see yourself looking into possibly living somewhere like this?" Lopez asked Dawkins.

"Yeah, I work not too far. I'm always in this area. I'm in full support of it being offered to local people first," Dawkins said.

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