Developer Incentives and Applications

New Construction Assistance

SHIP funds may be provided to organizations to be used for the land acquisition, infrastructure and development costs, and all associated fees and permits, for single-family housing for resale to eligible homebuyers in incorporated or unincorporated Collier County. The units may be constructed on infill lots or as a part of a larger development.

Income Categories to be Served: Extremely low, Very low, Low and Moderate

Maximum Award: $50,000 per housing unit

Single-family Housing	Rental Housing
Owner occupied rehabilitation – SHIP funds will be awarded to households in need of repairs to correct code violations, health and safety issues, electrical, plumbing, roofing, windows, other structural items and relocation. Assistance may include costs related to all eligible repairs, inspections, work write ups, recording fees and project delivery fees. For terms, qualifications and other details, see page 8 of the SHIP LHAP plan.	Rental development – Funds will be awarded to developers of affordable rental units for construction financing through other state or federal housing programs to construct affordable rental units in incorporated or unincorporated Collier County. This funding is intended to be used as gap financing required for the project. In cases where a smaller development (less than 50 units) is being proposed that included Special Needs units, the County may choose to provide a larger amount of the overall construction financing. For terms, qualifications and other details, see page 14 of the SHIP LHAP plan.
Purchase assistance – SHIP funds will be awarded to first-time homebuyers for down payment and closing costs to purchase a newly constructed or an existing single-family home, manufactured home or condominium. For terms, qualifications and other details, see page 10 of the SHIP LHAP plan.	Rental rehabilitation – The program is designed to rehabilitation rental units in Collier County. Loans will be giving to non-profit/for profit housing landlords/owners who have site control and ownership of the properties to rehabilitate existing singe family, multi-family or mobile/manufactured rental units on scattered sites or a rental complex. Assistance may be provided for large projects involving the repair of multiple rental units. For terms, qualifications and other details, see page 16 of the SHIP LHAP plan.
Demolition and Replacement of Site Built or Manufactured Homes – SHIP funds will be awarded to homeowners in need of demolition and replacement of housing. The county may use SHIP funds for demolition and replacement of site built or manufactured housing. This strategy will be used in lieu of rehabilitation when cost to repair the home are determined be more than 50% of the home’s value, as determined by the county.  For terms, qualifications and other details see page 22 of the SHIP LHAP plan.	Rental acquisition – The program is designed to acquire rental units within Collier County. For terms, qualifications and other details, see page 18 of the SHIP LHAP plan.

Currently, Collier County’s residential density in the urban area is generally limited to four units per acre. However, developers willing to produce units at affordable levels can increase their density to as high as 16 units per acre through the density bonus program, should they meet certain requirements.

For more information, please contact the Collier County Community and Human Services Division at 239-252-CARE (2273) or housinginfo@colliercountyfl.gov. Also, see Collier County Land Development Code Section 2.06 for details.

SHIP funds may be provided to organizations to be used for the land acquisition, infrastructure and development costs, and all associated fees and permits, for single-family housing for resale to eligible home buyers in incorporated or unincorporated Collier County. The units may be constructed on infill lots or as a part of a larger development. For more information, see page 19 of the SHIP Local Housing Assistance Plan.

The Fast-Track Permitting and Review Process is to allow for expedited reviews of all zoning actions and permitting applications, which include affordable housing. This process typically saves a developer both time and money, and may be applied to new or expanding development orders.

In order to qualify, the applicant for a proposed development order must:

• Specifically request affordable housing expedited review;
• Construct a development that contains a minimum of 20% of the total number of approved units as approved affordable housing in the 140% or below of the household area median income category; and,
• Obtain the Collier County Community and Human Services-issued qualification certificate before the Growth Management Department (GMD) review process.

For more information, please contact the Collier County Community and Human Services Division at 239-252-CARE (2273) or housinginfo@colliercountyfl.gov. You can view our Fast track permitting and review process resolution here.

Developers/builders that provide affordable housing units may apply for reimbursement of all the sales and use taxes paid on any material used to build the unit (7% on overage). You must complete construction and receive the Certificate of Occupancy before you can submit the application.

Download the application.

Through the Impact Fee Deferral Program, Collier County agrees to defer the payment of impact fees for any new owner-occupied or rental housing unit, which qualifies as affordable. The program is available to units targeting up to 120% of the area median income. The fees are deferred for ten years for qualifying rental units (deferrals longer than ten years may be approved by the Collier County Board of County Commissioners). Deferrals on owner-occupied units are due upon sale, refinance or loss of homestead exemption.

In order to qualify, submit an application to the county for consideration. Upon approval, a $350 application fee is required. Completed applications can be mailed or delivered in-person to Collier County’s Community and Human Services Division Office.

For more information, please contact the Collier County Community and Human Services Division at 239-252-CARE (2273) or housinginfo@colliercountyfl.gov. Also, see Collier County Ordinance 2018-28 for details.

The Collier County Board of County Commissioners created Innovation Zones in 2010 to promote economic development and diversify the local economy by encouraging the construction of corporate headquarters and manufacturing plants as well as to improve neighborhoods.

Innovation Zones offer economic incentives to create higher-paying jobs outside of Collier County’s three top industries – hospitality, agriculture and construction/real estate – that help cover permit and impact fees as well as development and construction costs.

Currently, Collier County has three designated Innovation Zones: Ave Maria, Activity Center No. 9 and Golden Gate City. These zones are similar to Community Redevelopment Areas, which help enhance the appeal of communities that would gain the most economical benefits.

Interested in an Innovation Zone?
To qualify for the incentives, developers must seek project approval by the county commissioners before building. After project approval, developers can use the funds in any lawful manner, including:

• Infrastructure required to serve new target businesses, or the expansion of an existing target business;
• Payment of county impact fees to be paid by the new target business, or the expansion of an existing target business; and,
• Payment of building permit fees, or other county fees related to the construction of structures that serve the target business.

For more information, please visit the county’s webpage.

Qualified Opportunity Zones were created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These zones are designed to spur economic development and job creation in communities that would benefit from revitalization throughout the country and U.S. possessions by providing tax benefits to those who invest eligible capital into these communities. Taxpayers may defer tax on eligible capital gains by making an investment in a Qualified Opportunity Fund and meeting other requirements.

Providing a tax deferment incentive encourages long-term investment and job creation in targeted communities. This is one strategy to enhance the ability to attract businesses, developers and financial institutions to invest in targeted areas, or distressed communities.

What is a Qualified Opportunity Fund?
A Qualified Opportunity Fund is an investment vehicle that files either a partnership, or corporation federal income tax return and whose purpose is to invest in Qualified Opportunity Zone property. The fund model also enables a broad array of investors to pool their resources in Opportunity Zones, increasing the scale of investments in underserved areas. It also offers many tax benefit tiers, including a permanent exclusion from taxable income of capital gains from the sale or exchange of an investment in the fund, if the investment is held for at least 10 years.

More information is available on the county’s Opportunity Zone webpage.

Interested in forming a qualified Opportunity Fund?
An eligible corporation or partnership self-certifies by filing Form 8996 with its federal income tax return.

Additional Resources
This IRS FAQs sheet and this Florida Department of Economic Opportunity page answer more questions about the federal program. Also, the Economic Innovation Group created an informative fact sheet.

This program is designed to rehabilitate rental units in Collier County. Loans will be given to non-profit/for-profit housing landlords/owners who have site control and ownership of the properties to rehabilitate existing single-family, multifamily or mobile/manufactured rental units on scattered site or a rental complex. Assistance may be provided for large projects involving the repair of multiple rental units. This program is currently covered for fiscal years 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.

Those who fall under extremely low, very low, low and moderate income levels may qualify under this program. The maximum award per property is $500,000, with a maximum per unit award amount of $30,000.

For more information about rental rehabilitation please see page 16 of the SHIP Local Housing Assistance Plan.