Government

Boca Raton Extends Interest-Free Loan for Redevelopment of Dixie Manor Public Housing

by
Daniel Nee
January 15, 2025

Dixie Manor, Boca Raton, FL, Jan. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Boca Raton officials on Tuesday night approved a measure that will provide an interest-free loan of $640,000 to a redevelopment firm that will redevelop the facilities at the Dixie Manor public housing development, a plan that will ultimately lead to the re-branding of the community to “The Residences at Martin Manor.”

The funding will be provided to DM Redevelopment Limited through Citibank. Dixie Manor is owned by the Boca Raton Housing Authority, a separate entity from the municipal government as a whole, however officials decided to extend the loan for its redevelopment to “demonstrate the city’s commitment” to the 95-home community off Dixie Highway, just north of Glades Road. DM Residential is a company formed out of a partnership between the Housing Authority and Atlantic Pacific Communities.

Plans call for the existing 95 housing units to be demolished in favor of 95 new units, all of which will be designated affordable housing and subsidized by the Housing Authority. Ele Zachariades, an attorney representing Atlantic Pacific, told city council members at a meeting last year that about half of the residents currently living in the complex will move to the south side of the area during construction while the other half will be relocated through a provider hired by the development company. The demolished homes will be replaced by three, three-story apartment buildings with the same number of units. A second phase of construction would add about 100 additional apartments to the north side of the complex, which would also be subsidized. The vast majority of the funding for the redevelopment will be provided by the federal government.

Dixie Manor, Boca Raton, FL, Jan. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The first phase of work – the demolition and initial rebuild – will take about three years to complete, according to officials. Funding is still in the midst of being secured for the second phase, which may also include some resources set aside for historic preservation. Officials have said residents who must move out of Dixie Manor will be able to return after construction assuming they still meet income requirements.

The aging Dixie Manor complex has fallen into disrepair and has long been in need of improvements. The community was originally built to house black workers at Boca Raton Army Air Field, which pioneered the development of radar technology during World War II. The former military installation is located where today’s Boca Raton Airport and property owned by Florida Atlantic University operate.

Dixie Manor, Boca Raton, FL, Jan. 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The total cost of the project is estimated to cost in upwards of $40 million, with the comparatively small loan from the city demonstrating the governing body’s support of the effort, which was required to gain approval and funding from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. The loan agreement does not set a formal payback schedule, and may be forgiven before it matures in 2055.