The city of Sarasota in Florida has been experiencing a housing crisis, with affordable housing becoming a major concern for the community. To address this issue, the City Commission has recently approved an exclusive buyer brokerage agreement with Ian Black Real Estate to locate and potentially purchase land where affordable housing can be developed.
Under the agreement, Ian Black Real Estate will have six months to identify suitable properties for affordable housing development that the city can then buy. This partnership is expected to succeed where earlier efforts to provide incentives for affordable housing development have fallen short.
Ian Black, partner and co-founder of Ian Black Real Estate, emphasized the importance of tackling affordable housing and believes he can find appropriate sites for the city to purchase. He has not yet identified potential sites as he is in the beginning stages of the search, and he does not want to harm the city’s negotiating position. Any potential deal he works out would have to go before the City Commission for approval.
The search for affordable housing development sites is not only driven by social responsibility but also has the potential for commercial benefit. Commercial brokers, like residential real estate agents, almost always work on commission, so Ian Black Real Estate will not be paid for the search unless the city buys the identified property or properties. If the city does buy a property found by Ian Black Real Estate, the commercial real estate firm will be paid 3% of the sale price.
The City Commission has been actively exploring options to address the affordable housing crisis. In a Jan. 30 workshop, they discussed the need for affordable housing and the options the city should pursue. Mayor Kyle Battie expressed concern that the city’s efforts to provide incentives for affordable housing development have not been effective. “We’ve done that (provide incentives) yet we still find ourselves in a place where we’re damn near begging developers to give us some affordable housing,” he said.
Battie has hinted at the possibility of inclusionary housing requirements. These requirements would set affordable housing standards for developers to meet if they sought to rezone property in the city. However, Deputy City Attorney Michael A. Connolly reminded the commission that state law mandates that if the city mandates a developer to build affordable housing, then the city “must provide incentivesto fully offset all costs to the developer.”
In conclusion, the partnership between the City of Sarasota and Ian Black Real Estate represents a promising step forward in addressing the affordable housing crisis. The six-month agreement gives Ian Black Real Estate ample time to identify suitable sites for affordable housing development. While it remains to be seen whether this partnership will result in the desired outcome, it is clear that the City Commission is committed to finding solutions that work for everyone in the community.