G
reen Mills Group is developing Lofts on Sixth, an eight-story mixed-use project near downtown Fort Lauderdale, featuring 90 affordable housing units for low-income seniors and a new home for a local food bank catering to the elderly. The project's founder, Mitch Rosenstein, expects financing to be secured by the second quarter of next year, with construction taking 14 months to complete.

    Each senior housing unit will have one bedroom and one bathroom, spanning approximately 600 square feet, with a monthly rent of around $1,300. Eligibility for renting an apartment at Lofts on Sixth is restricted to seniors aged 55 and older earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income in Broward County.

    The development site, located at the intersection of Northwest Sixth Street and Northwest Third Avenue, measures about three-fourths of an acre. Green Mills has secured a 99-year ground lease on the parcel from Pantry of Broward, a charity that provides food to seniors facing financial strain. The company will make a capitalized lease payment of $1.8 million when construction financing closes.

    The Lofts on Sixth development will include 9,000 square feet for a new dry storage facility and headquarters for Pantry of Broward, as well as a cold-storage facility and grocery store operated by the nonprofit organization. Green Mills acquired an adjacent parcel from the city of Fort Lauderdale for $560,000, which was reduced from its original purchase price after contaminated soil was discovered.

    The total cost of the development is approximately $40 million, with about $30 million coming from financial institutions that qualify for federal low-income housing tax credits. TD Bank will provide construction financing of around $20 million, while the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency has provided a $640,000 loan and Broward County has agreed to make a $2 million loan to support the development.