JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville has a new $20 million source of financing aimed at getting more affordable housing projects off the ground and just two weeks after its launch, developers are already seeking access to the money.
But the fund is not a check being handed to developers. The first projects are still going through underwriting, and the organization managing the fund says it hopes some of those deals can reach closing by the end of this year and move into construction early next year.
The Jacksonville Growth and Affordability Partnership Fund, known as the Jax GAP Fund, launched Aug. 20 as a partnership between private investors, philanthropic organizations and Self-Help Ventures Fund, a community development financial institution.
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Unlike city incentives or other taxpayer-funded programs, the $20 million is being used as a private lending pool for affordable housing developers.
The money will be used to make low-cost loans to affordable housing developers, helping projects that already have financing in place but still cannot close their funding gaps.
Amanda Frazier Wong, vice president of Self-Help Ventures Fund, said the need for another source of financing is growing as construction costs continue to rise.
“There are federal, state, and city incentives that support affordable housing development, but one of the things that’s been happening over the past number of years is that construction costs are increasing more quickly than incomes are in Jacksonville and Duval and many places around the country,” Wong said.
Wong said traditional sources of affordable housing funding are no longer enough to make some projects financially viable.
Where the $20 million comes from
The fund is backed by four primary investors:
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Northern Trust: $10 million
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Jessie Ball duPont Fund: $5 million
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Community Foundation for Northeast Florida: $3 million
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Pinnacle Financial Partners: $2 million
Self-Help Ventures Fund administers the fund and will make loans to qualifying affordable housing developers.
The goal is to use the $20 million to help generate roughly $80 million in affordable housing development and potentially about 400 new affordable units.
As developers repay their loans, Self-Help Ventures Fund will return the capital to investors, allowing the original loan money to be reinvested in the community.
Developers are already seeking the money
The fund began accepting applications shortly after launching, and Wong said interest came quickly.
There are already two applications in process, according to Self-Help Ventures Fund, and a term sheet has been issued for one project.
Together, those first two applications represent 304 potential affordable housing units.
The fund has not publicly identified those applicants yet because the deals are still being reviewed.
One downtown project is looking at the fund
One downtown project exploring the new financing is Duval 212, a planned mixed-income development in Jacksonville’s Cathedral neighborhood by Housing Trust Group (HTG).
The project was approved by Jacksonville City Council last year, but it has not moved into construction.
Duval 212 calls for 85 units, including 75 affordable units and 10 market-rate units.
HTG told News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson it is still working to close its funding gap.
The developer also confirmed it has submitted preliminary information to be considered for the Jax GAP Fund.
If the project ultimately receives GAP financing, the developer said the money could reduce its higher-interest permanent loan and potentially allow it to reach a construction financing closing without relying on competitive Florida Housing Finance Corporation funding.
But the project has not been approved for Jax GAP financing, and there is no new construction timeline at this point.
What happens next?
For the developers currently seeking money, the next step is underwriting.
Wong said Self-Help is collecting information, conducting due diligence and working with borrowers before loans can close.
“We hope to get to closing towards the end of this year on these early projects, and then to be moving into construction early next year,” Wong said.
In 2025, Duval County developers submitted more than $40 million in applications for gap financing through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation’s State Apartment Incentive Loan program, but only 20% of the projects were funded, according to the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
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