ARCADIA, Fla. — As school districts across the country fight to recruit and retain teachers, one Southwest Florida county is considering a unique approach. The DeSoto County School District is working to develop an apartment complex specifically for teachers and staff.
WATCH: FOX 4's Hunter Walterman speaks with DeSoto County Superintendent Bobby Bennett about the project:
"Our goal is to have young teachers come in and I can look their mom and Dad in the eye and tell them we got a place that your child’s going to be safe," said DeSoto County Superintendent Bobby Bennett. "And hopefully in five or six years you’re going to have enough money for a down payment to buy their own place.”
Sarasota-based One Stop Housing designed a 72-unit apartment complex off County Road 760A, according to a presentation from the company. There will be two buildings with studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom apartments.
The complex will be just across the street from Nocatee Elementary School - in between Southwest Norton Avenue and Southwest Shores Avenue.
A lot of teachers live in other counties, Bennett said, because there isn't enough affordable housing. 126 employees commute from outside DeSoto County, Bennett said.
The average rent for an Arcadia apartment is $1,440 a month, according to realty website Zillow. That's up $265 compared to last year.
The average rent in Arcadia is $2,000 across all housing, according to Zillow.
Most new apartments in the county are income-restricted, Bennett said. Many teachers make around $50,000 a year, the superintendent said, which is too much for a rent-controlled unit.
"On the other hand, you're not making enough," Bennett said. "You can't afford to buy a house."
That leaves teachers with few options. There are 20 apartment rentals available in DeSoto County, according to Zillow.
Mark Vengroff is a managing partner with One Stop Housing. He said the development will help solve that problem.
Rent will be at or below 30% of educators average salaries, according to a presentation from the company. The average rent will be $1,100, Vengroff said, including utilities.
The complex, called the Reserve at Nocatee, is designed for school district staff.
If the school district fills it's need, Vengroff said, units will become available for 'hometown heroes.' That includes first responders like sheriff's deputies. The complex could eventually open to the public.
"This is an opportunity not only to recruit and retain great talent for our school district and for our first responders," Vengroff said. "But it also gives them an opportunity to stay here for a long time.”
The complex is a mixed-use development that includes limited retail space. There are plans for a clubhouse and small coffee shop, Vengroff said. The company is speaking with local cafe owners about filling that space.
One Stop Housing is currently navigating the regulatory process.
On Wednesday, Vengroff gave a presentation to the Board of County Commissioners.
The company is asking commissioners to amend the county's Comprehensive Plan to support more density on the site. That will come up for a vote next month.
One Stop Housing also requested more Equivalent Residential Units (ERU). Local governments use ERU's to bill for stormwater fees.
Commissioners indicated support for that on Wednesday.
"This board's always been kind of hardset on, if you want the ERU's, you have to pay for 'em," said Commissioner Elton Langford.
"I don't want us to open Pandora's Box here, but at the same time I'd like to see us as a board, and staff, set out and see if we could craft something to facilitate this," Langford said.
Other board members echoed that. Commissioners welcomed the project and said it could create much-needed housing opportunities.
"There's housing that goes up, but a lot of it is low-income housing," Commissioners Jerod Gross said. "And it's subsidized housing. And that's the struggle. We have a lot of folks that are just above that."
"And so you know you're stuck finding an older house that you're paying $2,000 on, and it's not worth $2,000 in rent," Gross said.
The complex will cost between $8 million and $9 million to build, Vengroff said. The company is paying for it with a combination of debt and charitable donations.
That includes money from the Charles and Margery Barancik foundation, a Sarasota-based philanthropic group.
"This project is intended to help working teachers, working cafeteria workers, working bus drivers," said Matt Sauer, the foundation's collaboration and impact officer. "There is no government subsidy in this project and none of the requirements that come along with those dollars."
The superintendent said the goal is to bring more teachers to DeSoto County - and keep them here.
“I think it’s so, so essential that a child has a network of people behind him that are all on the same side," Bennett said.
