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Is Orange County putting the $160 million it promised in 2019 into its affordable housing trust fund?

The Roadmap Reckoner · Orange County, Florida · last checked 2026-10-02

Verdict	PENDING, ON TRACK
Promiser	Orange County Government (Mayor Jerry L. Demings's Housing for All Task Force; accepted by the Board of County Commissioners)
Place	Orange County, Florida
Promised	$160 million into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund over 10 years from FY2020; up to 6,500 certified affordable units by 2030 (November 2019 Action Plan)
Delivered / status	$142,494,769 budgeted through FY2028 (89%); 542 trust-fund apartments opened since April 2026; 2,367 units with money committed (about 36% of 6,500)
Last checked	2026-10-02

Verdict: PENDING, ON TRACK. The promise was "$10 million will be obtained in initial funding, with a 10 percent incremental increase per year for a total of $160 million over a period of 10 years" [C3]. The Board has approved budgets through fiscal 2028 that the county puts at $142,494,769, or "89% of the total $160 million" [C11, C13]. That is the 10-percent formula, plus $6.7 million the Board added to fiscal 2023 [C9, C10, C12]. Nine of the ten budget years are covered [C7, C11]. The tenth, fiscal 2029, falls in the county's next three-year plan [C11, C13].

The homes the money was meant to produce are a different picture. The 2019 plan said: "Up to 6,500 certified affordable units will be produced by 2030 as a result of this committed local funding." [C3] In August 2026 the county reported that "four affordable apartment communities supported by the Trust Fund have opened since April 2026, creating 542 new apartment homes" [C21]. That is about 8% of 6,500, against the plan's 2030 deadline [C3, C21]. The county's own measure of progress counts homes it has committed money to: "a total of 2,367 rental and ownership units", which it puts at "about 36%" of the 6,500 [C15]. This entry's verdict rates the money, because the homes' date, 2030, has not arrived. The homes are reported below in the record's own numbers.

The promise is in the county's Housing for All 10-Year Action Plan, dated November 2019 [C3]. On December 17, 2019, "The Orange County Board of County Commissioners accepted the recommendations of the Housing for All Task Force" [C1]. On March 24, 2020, the Board "unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 2020-09 and established the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Program" [C5].

Last checked: October 2, 2026.

The money. Budgets approved through fiscal 2028 total $142,494,769, 89% of $160 million [C11, C13]. The county's fiscal 2026 budget says: "This brings our investment in the affordable housing trust fund to $101.5 million over seven (7) years and a commitment of more than $160 million over 10 years." [C14]
Homes completed. 542 apartments in four communities, all opened since April 2026 [C21]. On county-owned lots, "As of 2025, 12 homes are complete" [C17]. The county's repair program "completed 33 major rehabilitation projects for qualified homeowners" [C17].
Homes with money committed. 2,367 units through fiscal 2025, "about 36%" of 6,500 [C15]. The county expects the fiscal 2026 to 2028 budgets to produce or preserve 3,570 more, and puts the combined total at 91% of the units it expects from the fund over ten years [C12, C18].
The 30,300. The plan's larger target, 30,300 new housing units, is not reported against in any county record read here [C4, C23, C27, C28].

The promise

The Action Plan's trust fund section lists these under "Measures and Outcomes" [C3]:

"$10 million will be obtained in initial funding, with a 10 percent incremental increase per year for a total of $160 million over a period of 10 years. • Up to 6,500 certified affordable units will be produced by 2030 as a result of this committed local funding." [C3]

Its executive summary gives the plan's overall target [C4]:

"it is projected that 30,300 new housing units will be produced in Orange County over the next ten years" [C4]

The county's trust fund plan describes the funding rule [C6]. At least $10 million in general revenue goes to the fund starting in fiscal 2019-2020, each later year's allocation is 10% above the year before, and the Board "has discretion to adjust any annual allocation during the fiscal year budgeting process" [C6]. Without changes, the plan says, "the aggregate amount committed to the HTF Program is expected to total approximately $160 million" [C8].

Timeline

November 2019. The 10-Year Action Plan sets the $160 million, the "Up to 6,500" units and the 30,300 total [C3, C4].
December 17, 2019. The Board "accepted the recommendations of the Housing for All Task Force" [C1]. The county's 2025 trust fund plan says the Board accepted the 10-Year Action Plan in December 2019 [C2].
March 24, 2020. The Board adopted Ordinance No. 2020-09, which "established the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Program" [C5].
September 22, 2020. The Board adopted the first three-year trust fund plan, for fiscal 2020 to 2022 [C7].
June 2021. The trust fund program issued its first competitive request for proposals for apartment projects, RFP Y21-1046 [C19].
September 2021. "The Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to award $13.18 million to developers proposing to build four different multi-family affordable housing developments" [C25]. The county's release was headed "Orange County Government Dedicates $13M for 525 Future Affordable Housing Units to be Developed by 2023" [C25]. The four were:
- Banyan Development Group's 156 units, "walking distance to Barnett Park" [C25];
- Emerald Villas Phase 3, 90 units "in Pine Hills" [C25];
- Southwick Commons, 195 units "in Apopka's City Center development area" [C25];
- the Enclave at Canopy Park, 84 units at the southeast corner of 45th Street and Rio Grande Avenue [C25].
July 2022. The county issued a second request for proposals [C19]. The Board selected two projects that, the 2025 plan says, "will produce 600 affordable rental units" [C19].
September 2022. The Board approved a county budget that "added $6.7M to the Trust Fund Program's FY 2023 budget" [C10]. On September 13, 2022, it adopted the second three-year plan, for fiscal 2023 to 2025 [C7].
April 2024. The county issued a third request for proposals [C19]. The Board selected five projects that "will produce 573 affordable rental units" [C19].
November 2024. "local voters approved a charter amendment to make the Trust Fund permanent" [C26].
April 2025. At a groundbreaking ceremony "held on April 14", Mayor Jerry L. Demings and District 6 Commissioner Michael Scott "joined community members to officially kick off construction on the Enclave at Canopy Park" [C30]. It is now "a new 104-unit apartment community coming to the Holden Heights neighborhood" [C30]. The county said its developer, Archway Partners, "received $3 million from the fund in 2024" [C30].
May 2025. The county said the fund "has committed $55 million to 12 local housing projects, helping bring nearly 1,900 affordable units to life across the county" [C30].
August 28, 2025. The Board approved impact fee exemptions for "Barnett Villas, a 156-unit apartment community nearing completion in Pine Hills, and Enclave at Canopy Park, a 104-unit apartment community that recently broke ground in Holden Heights" [C31]. The county's release gave Barnett Villas as "expected to open by early 2026" and the Enclave as "expected to open in the second quarter of 2026" [C31].
September 17, 2025. The county's Affordable Housing Advisory Board reviewed the third three-year plan [C11].
September 2025. A county story reported "1,192 affordable units now under construction in Orange County" by Wendover Housing, among them "Southwick Commons in Apopka" [C26]. It also said: "To date, the County has committed $58 million, helping support nearly 2,400 new affordable units." [C26]
October 2025. The Board approved the third three-year budget, $58,638,669 for fiscal 2026 to 2028 [C11, C12].
April 2026. The county announced a ribbon-cutting at Whispering Oaks, a 192-unit community, for Wednesday, April 29 [C20]. Its notice said county leaders would, "for the first time, celebrate the completion of an apartment community supported by the program" [C20].
May 2026. The county announced a ribbon cutting for Barnett Villas, "a 156-unit affordable apartment community", for Friday, May 29 [C32].
July 2026. The county announced the Enclave at Canopy Park's grand opening for Thursday, July 9 [C22]. Its notice called the Enclave "the fourth affordable housing community supported by Orange County's Affordable Housing Trust Fund to open this year, following the completion of the 192-unit Whispering Oaks, the 156-unit Barnett Villas, and the 90-unit Residences at Emerald Villas" [C22].
August 2026. The county reported that "four affordable apartment communities supported by the Trust Fund have opened since April 2026, creating 542 new apartment homes" [C21].
At the last check. The county's Housing for All page shows "4,818 Total Affordable Units created" and "2,228 Total Units funded by Affordable Housing Trust Fund" [C23]. The table below those figures is headed "Projects in Progress" [C23]. Its rows include the four opened communities alongside projects such as Catchlight Crossings (300 units) and Southwick Commons (192 units) [C23].

What changed, and why, in the record's own words

The wording of the unit target.
- The 2019 plan: "Up to 6,500 certified affordable units will be produced by 2030" [C3].
- The 2025 trust fund plan: "a minimum of 6,500 certified affordable units will be produced or preserved in Orange County by 2030" [C28].
- The 2025 plan's count of 2,367 includes 347 rental units under "Multifamily Rental Preservation", a strategy it says "is preserving 347 affordable rental units" [C15].
The larger target.
- The 2019 plan: "30,300 new housing units" [C4].
- The fiscal 2026 budget book: "with a goal of 30,000 units by 2030" [C27].
- The 2025 trust fund plan: "the greater Housing for All goal of creating or preserving 11,300 affordable units by 2030" [C28].
The first four projects' date. They were announced in 2021 as "525 Future Affordable Housing Units to be Developed by 2023" [C25].
- Three of them opened in 2026: Barnett Villas, the Residences at Emerald Villas and the Enclave at Canopy Park [C21, C22]. Banyan Development Group's co-founder was among the scheduled speakers at the Barnett Villas ribbon cutting [C32]. The county's Engage Orange page calls the Residences at Emerald Villas "the final phase of this affordable housing project" [C24].
- The fourth, Southwick Commons, was among the units "now under construction" in September 2025 [C26]. It is not among the four communities the county listed as open in August 2026 [C21].
The Enclave at Canopy Park grew from 84 units in the 2021 award [C25] to "a 104-unit apartment community" [C31].
The expected opening dates. In August 2025 the county gave "expected to open by early 2026" for Barnett Villas and "expected to open in the second quarter of 2026" for the Enclave [C31]. In 2026, the ribbon cutting at Barnett Villas was set for Friday, May 29 [C32], and the Enclave's grand opening for Thursday, July 9 [C22].
The money rose above the formula once. In September 2022 the Board approved a budget that "added $6.7M to the Trust Fund Program's FY 2023 budget, for a total annual HTF allocation of $20,010,000" [C10].
The fund outlives the promise. "In November 2024, local voters approved a charter amendment to make the Trust Fund permanent." [C26]
Why. No county record read here gives a reason for the later opening dates. Three records speak to costs and financing:
- The county's 2025 trust fund plan: "As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic conditions have caused inflationary cost increases, resulting in large impacts to residential housing construction." [C10] It does not tie that sentence to any one project [C10].
- The county's September 2025 story says the trust fund money "enabled Barnett Villas, a 156-unit community in Pine Hills, to overcome funding hurdles and move forward" [C26].
- The president of Archway Partners, quoted by the county in May 2025, said of the Enclave at Canopy Park: "We have tried many times, for many years to get this project financed." [C30]

What it costs

The promise: $160 million over ten years [C3].
Fiscal 2020 to 2025: the first two three-year plans "represented $83.8 million (52%) of the total amount of $160 million committed to the HTF Program over the ten-year period" [C9]. That includes the $6.7 million added to fiscal 2023 [C10].
Fiscal 2026 to 2028: $58,638,669, approved in October 2025, in three years of $17,715,610, $19,487,171 and $21,435,888 [C11, C12].
Through fiscal 2028: $142,494,769, or 89% [C13].
Against the formula.
- $10 million rising 10% a year comes to $77,156,100 for fiscal 2020 to 2025 [C3, C6]. The county's $83.8 million is that plus the $6.7 million added to fiscal 2023 [C3, C9, C10].
- The three amounts for fiscal 2026 to 2028 are the formula's to the dollar [C12].
- Ten years of the formula alone come to $159,374,246, the "approximately $160 million" the plan names [C8].
- Reaching $160 million needs $17,505,231 more after fiscal 2028 [C13]. The formula alone would give $23,579,477 for fiscal 2029 [C3, C13].
Committed to projects: "To date, the Housing Trust Fund committed" $58.5 million "to produce and preserve a total of 2,367 rental and ownership units" [C15]. The fiscal 2026 budget "includes a total of $87.3 million under the Affordable Housing Trust Fund" [C16].
The county's wording varies. The fiscal 2026 budget book also says: "The county has allocated $160 million to create and preserve affordable housing and mixed-income housing developments" [C27]. The same budget's message gives "$101.5 million over seven (7) years" [C14].
Per community, the county's notices give:
- Whispering Oaks: "$1.86 million from the Trust Fund and $2.5 million in impact fee credits" [C20];
- Barnett Villas: "$6.8 million from Orange County's Affordable Housing Trust Fund and $2.2 million in Impact Fee Waivers", plus $2.5 million "from the federal American Rescue Plan" [C32];
- the Enclave at Canopy Park: "$3 million from the Trust Fund" [C22].

The homes, in the record's numbers

Completed apartments, 542 in all [C21]:
- Whispering Oaks, 192 units, in Pine Hills [C21];
- Barnett Villas, 156 units, in Pine Hills [C21];
- Residences at Emerald Villas, 90 units, in Pine Hills [C21];
- Enclave at Canopy Park, 104 units, in Holden Heights [C21].
New owner-occupied homes: "In 2021, Orange County conveyed 28 County-owned properties to six (6) non-profit agencies to construct new owner-occupied homes. As of 2025, 12 homes are complete, 6 are under construction, and 5 are in the development process." [C17]
Repairs: "Orange County's Homeowner Housing Rehabilitation Program completed 33 major rehabilitation projects for qualified homeowners" [C17].
Committed, through fiscal 2025: 2,367 units [C15].
- Of these, 1,803 are new rental units from the three rounds of awards, which the plan says the rounds "are bringing" [C15, C19].
- The other 564 are mostly repairs and preservation of existing homes: 158 under "Homeowner Housing Preservation" and 347 under "Multifamily Rental Preservation" [C15]. The remaining 59 are new owner-occupied homes from the county's lot, land and loan programs [C15].
Projected: the county expects the fiscal 2026 to 2028 budgets to produce or preserve 3,570 more units [C18]. It says these, with the units already committed, "make up 91% of the total number of units anticipated to be created or preserved by the Housing Trust Fund over a 10-year period" [C18].
The county's running totals.
- The Housing for All page's "4,818 Total Affordable Units created" and "2,228 Total Units funded by Affordable Housing Trust Fund" sit above a list headed "Projects in Progress" [C23].
- A county page says: "To date, more than 2,200 affordable housing units have been created thanks to the trust fund." [C24]
- The county's April 2026 notice said county leaders would "for the first time, celebrate the completion of an apartment community supported by the program" at Whispering Oaks [C20].

What to watch

The tenth year's money, fiscal 2029, in the county's next three-year plan [C11, C13].
Southwick Commons, the fourth project from 2021, last reported among units "now under construction" [C25, C26].
Completed homes against the 2019 plan's "Up to 6,500 certified affordable units" by 2030 [C3], and whether the county publishes a count of completed, certified units.

What this entry did not check

The Board's December 17, 2019 agenda item and resolution. The acceptance rests on the Mayor's statement of that day [C1] and the county's 2025 trust fund plan [C2].
The first three-year trust fund plan (fiscal 2020 to 2022). The county's link to it returned an error, so its budget is not given separately here.
How much has been paid out. This entry did not establish how much of the money has been spent, or what the $87.3 million "under the Affordable Housing Trust Fund" holds [C16].
The fiscal 2027 budget, for the year that began October 1, 2026, was not read.
What makes a unit "certified". No county record read here defines the term or counts certified units [C3, C15].
Southwick Commons after September 2025 [C26].
The 2019 report's status. The full report the county hosts is marked "DRAFT" on its cover [C3].
The June 2026 State of the County, and news reports of a June 2026 funding round, were not read.

Sources

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