A mix of local, statewide, and national developers have submitted proposals seeking a share of Orange County’s latest affordable housing funding round. The $35 million program is designed to provide critical gap financing for the construction of new income-restricted apartment communities across the region.
Applications for the county’s Multi-Family Affordable Housing Gap Financing program closed on June 16, launching what is expected to be a competitive review process as the number of applicants far exceeds available slots.
This funding round marks a defining final chapter in Mayor Jerry Demings’ mayoral career, cementing his legacy of tackling the local housing crisis. Orange County originally established the Affordable Housing Trust Fund in 2020 as the cornerstone of Demings’ signature Housing for All initiative. As he prepares to leave office, the fund stands as his administration’s most powerful enduring tool for building income-restricted communities, leaving behind a long-term framework designed to protect working-class residents from being priced out of the region for years to come.
The 2026 solicitation is backed by a highly secure, multi-year financial runway. As GrowthSpotter previously reported, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a rolling allocation of $58.5 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund spanning fiscal years 2026 through 2028. This financial stability is legally locked in, following a voter-approved charter amendment that made the affordable housing trust fund a permanent fixture of the county code.
This multi-year funding stream feeds into the county’s broader 10-year action plan to create or preserve 11,000 affordable units by 2030. According to county staff projections, the total $58.5 million trust fund pool is expected to yield 3,570 total units over this three-year period. While the overarching trust fund is designed to handle both construction and preservation over its lifespan, this current $35 million round is focused exclusively on driving new construction to aggressively expand the local housing supply.
Central Florida’s housing crisis
The demand for this funding comes at a time when Central Florida is facing serious housing pressures. According to a 2026 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there are currently only about 13 affordable rental units available for every 100 families at the extreme low end of the income scale. This deficit places the Orlando metro area in a tie with Las Vegas for the worst low-income housing shortage in the entire country.
Further, the crisis has bled heavily into the middle class. For average middle earners such as teachers, firefighters and nurses, available inventory has steadily declined for four consecutive years. The Coalition tracks that affordable units for these middle-income households dropped from 106 units per 100 families in 2022 to just 82 units today.
Measuring the tangible impact of the funding
To address this shortage, Orange County has budgeted $35 million through its Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Individual awards are capped at $7 million for projects using tax-exempt bonds and 4% housing tax credits, and capped at $3 million for projects utilizing State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) funding.
The funding pool represents a substantial increase from the county’s 2024 funding round, which made nearly $21 million available to developers, an allocation that directly financed 573 new affordable units across five distinct communities, with over 42% of those units specifically earmarked for qualified seniors. That breaks down to roughly $36,650 of county gap financing per apartment built. Applying that exact same cost-per-unit ratio to the new $35 million budget yields approximately 955 units.
Why gap financing is needed
While tenant demand is at an all-time high, building affordable multifamily projects has become increasingly difficult. According to market analysis from CoStar, while the broader apartment market is showing signs of stabilizing, momentum remains uneven and developers continue to face a contracting new-construction pipeline due to high interest rates and localized land scarcity. Regional economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta highlights that regional builders are dealing with severe financing friction. A 2024 report notes that even with sustained demand for affordable rentals, traditional lenders have tightened credit standards, creating late-stage funding gaps that local government programs must now step in to fill.
Even when developers have a good project plan, they often have to put it on hold because skyrocketing building costs combined with high interest rates make the project too expensive to finish. Therefore, Orange County’s Gap Financing program acts as a critical piece of the financial puzzle, covering the budget deficits that would otherwise cause these essential projects to fall through.
The developers vying for awards
A review of the county’s procurement portal indicates that numerous notable housing entities submitted responses before the deadline. Among the most recognizable local names is Altamonte Springs-based Wendover Housing Partners, which is currently developing Catchlight Crossings, Universal’s high-profile mixed-income housing initiative near the Epic Universe theme park. Another applicant, PMG Affordable, is partnering with the Orlando Housing Authority to redevelop Parramore’s Griffin Park and the Lorna Doone Apartments across from Camping World Stadium.
Orlando-based Banyan Development Group also submitted a proposal, building on their recent local footprint after opening the 156-unit Barnett Villas community and completing Fern Grove Apartments.
Out-of-state applicants include Denver-based Ulysses Development Group, which recently broke ground on Osprey Sound, a 100-unit senior housing community on Rio Grande Avenue. Additionally, Miami-based Housing Trust Group, one of Florida’s largest affordable housing developers, threw its hat into the ring after completing Grand East Village in Orlando last year.
Other prominent respondents include Nashville-based Elmington, Birdsong Housing Partners, NuRock Companies, TWG Development, MRK Partners, McDowell Housing Partners affiliate MHP Wekiva Springs LLC, John Stanley Inc., and multiple faith-based organizations.
Because application materials have not yet been released publicly, it remains unclear exactly how many unique projects are represented by the submissions or how much funding each applicant is seeking. County procurement staff will now review the submissions and make final recommendations for funding awards later this year.
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