Big Lower Keys housing project gets boost

A desperate need for more affordable Lower Keys housing outweighs concern over potential traffic problems, Monroe County commissioners decided Wednesday.

The Quarry Apartments, a 208-unit rental complex planned for Big Coppitt Key with a U.S. 1 entrance on Rockland Key, received a development agreement from commissioners along with a potential contribution of more than $2.5 million from various county coffers.

“If we can’t do this project, we can’t do an affordable-housing project anywhere in Monroe County,” Commissioner Danny Kolhage said. “I don’t know what else we can do…. If it’s not going to work here, it’s not going to work anywhere.”

Several Lower Keys residents living near mile marker 9.5, at the proposed access point to the development, contend that putting hundreds of new daily vehicle trips in an area where four lanes of U.S. 1 narrow to two lanes, would be dangerous.

“I know a little bit about traffic,” said Big Coppitt resident Gary Dunick, who retired after decades as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in the Keys. “There’s a lot of traffic fighting to get into the two-lane... Minimal speeds are about 70 mph.”

“The proposal on the entrance doesn’t make sense,” Mila de Mier said. “You’re putting kids in danger.”

Key West and Lower Keys employers urged the commission to approve the new residences to help alleviate a workforce shortage.

“The crisis in housing is beyond anything we’ve ever experienced. We really, really need to pass this project,” longtime Key West businessman Ed Swift said. “We can’t reproduce this, or even half of this, in the Lower Keys because the land is so dear.”

“When potential employees look at cost of living in the Lower Keys, they turn us down,” said Lower Keys Medical Center Chief Executive David Clay, describing vacant positions.

“It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to find attorneys,” said Monroe County Public Defender Robert Lockwood.

“It just keeps getting worse,” said Virginia Panico, executive vice president of the Key West Chamber of Commerce. “Vacation rentals took away family homes.... [Hurricane Irma] made it impossible. Now not one business has a full staff.”

Commissioners agreed, saying the $41 million project on former industrial land owned by the Toppino family is a rare opportunity.

As proposed, the Quarry Apartments would have nine buildings with mostly two- and one-bedroom apartments. Sixteen units would have three bedrooms. Regulated rents would range from under $600 monthly to $2,400, depending on size and resident income.

An access road leading to the Calle Uno highway intersection on Rockland Key could be moved if the backers can secure another piece of property and state approval to added a new intersection to U.S. 1, Quarry attorney Barton Smith said.

Commissioners agreed to fund about $1 million for half the cost of the new access road and waive building permit fees estimated at about $616,000.

They also voted to see if the county can legally tap land-acquisition money to pay for wastewater-access hook-up fees totaling around $936,000. Commissioner Sylvia Murphy voted against funding the wastewater cost.

A development agreement outlines general guidelines for a building project and confirms that it has suitable space. More detailed building permits will be sought this spring, Smith said.

This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Big Lower Keys housing project gets boost."