By Tom St. Myer
Nurse Kathy Chaplin’s son and daughter-in-law live with her out of necessity. The couple’s lone income is his salary from Publix.
Chaplin predicts their income will soon increase significantly. Her daughter-in-law is seeking employment after graduating from cosmetology school, and she expects her son to climb the ladder and earn raises at Publix. Yet, even if all that happens, Chaplin is realistic about their prospects of finding their own space in Pensacola.
“Finding a place that will be affordable will still be out of reach,” she said.
Chaplin shared her family story with an audience numbered in the hundreds on Tuesday night at First United Methodist Church. Justice United Seeking Transformation (JUST) Pensacola hosted a summit on the crisis in affordable housing. Speakers included Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves, Blues Angel Music CEO Nan DeStafney, Anne Ray of the University of Florida Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, and Ali Ankudowich from the Florida Housing Coalition.
JUST Pensacola consists of congregations throughout Pensacola. Founded in 2014, the organization aims to solve critical community problems. The organization began delving into the shortage of affordable housing about 2½ years ago.
Details shared during the summit included a shortage of roughly 4,000 housing units across Escambia County for tenants who earn under 60% of the area’s median income. Among the top 10 jobs in the county, only registered nurses earn enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment at market rate.
Over 16,000 household renters fall under 50% of the area’s median income, according to Ray. That means their hourly wage is under $18, and their monthly rent limit is $921 or less. That leaves few options, considering the average rent cost in Pensacola is $1,500 per month.
Slim to None Options
Data USA reports that 15% of the population lives below the poverty line. DeStafney underscored that housing options for minimum-wage employees are slim to none. Rent for a person earning minimum wage cannot exceed $695 due to requirements that a tenant earn three times the monthly amount for rent.
She said the shortage of affordable housing makes recruiting talent from outside the area virtually impossible for an employer such as herself.
“When all employers are trying to attract talent here, the first thing they look at is housing, and the second thing they look at is the school system,” DeStafney said. “These are significant differentiators on where they decide to take the job, and we can make Escambia County better in both of those areas.”
DeStafney pays above minimum wage, with salaries starting at $18 an hour, but that amount only stretches so far in the county.
“Most of my employees have a side hustle, and none are minimum wage. They make more than that,” she said. “One thing we can do is start controlling that application process. The other thing we can do is improve our public transportation system.”
Reeves touched on some of his affordable housing efforts since he took office in November 2022. He said the city has invested, requested or leveraged close to $20 million for affordable housing. Those totals include $7 million approved by the state legislature to acquire the old Baptist Hospital campus and develop mixed-income housing on the property.
The mayor agreed to speak at the summit despite disagreements with JUST on how to tackle affordable housing. Last year, the organization proposed dedicating $43 million over the next decade through a housing trust fund. Reeves shot down the idea and declined to attend a similar summit in April 2023.
Reeves spoke Tuesday night about everyone’s desire to solve the affordable housing crisis, even if they disagree on the proper steps.
“We want to make Pensacola the best place we can make it,” Reeves said. “I promise I didn’t sign up for this job not to do that.… We’re aligned to make Pensacola a better place to live and, more specifically, have places to live.”
Reeves emphasized attacking the problem at scale. He said that before his administration, the city attacked the crisis one house at a time, which failed to move the needle.
“The old saying is that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the next best time is tonight,” Reeves said. “Taking that approach and not waiting for perfection to seize every opportunity we can.”
Ankudowich shared how some other counties in Florida addressed affordable housing. She cited how Palm Beach County voters approved a $200 million bond for affordable housing in 2022.
Her recommendations to address affordable housing were in line with some measures already put in place by the city, including community redevelopment areas. Ankudowich said the key to success is building a local affordable housing system with supportive housing, affordable rental housing, and affordable home ownership. She said affordable rental housing is the “lynchpin” among the three pieces.
Reeves absorbed the information from Ankudowich and other stakeholders at the summit. He pledged to follow his campaign promise to invest every possible resource into the affordable housing crisis.
“We’re aligned in wanting to make Pensacola the greatest place for us to live,” Reeves said. “I don’t have the secret sauce to make that happen tomorrow, but we will continue to fight.”