Planned 100-unit complex in Sanford will provide affordable senior housing, officials say

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Five years ago, Sanford’s Redding Gardens Public Housing Development was closed down due to unlivable conditions.

On Tuesday, city officials announced that a new development will go up at the site and provide at least 100 one-bedroom units for seniors.

The plan was able to go forward thanks to a $1.5 million tax credit approved by the IRS for Gardner Capital, the project’s developer, officials said.

Three years after it was shut down for issues including leaky roofs, mold and rodent infestations, Redding Gardens was demolished.

At the time the development was shuttered, the Sanford Housing Authority did not have the funds to fix problems at its buildings, causing tenants to be relocated and buildings torn down.

Now, with the new plan, financing and developer, the Housing Authority hopes seniors will be able to move into the building in about a year-and-a-half.

Housing Authority executive director Vivian Bryant credited Gardner Capital for chasing down the tax credits that made the development possible.

“They were very tenacious about not taking no for an answer,” she said.

Cox Media Group