<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3QCWTC_1GqADmKB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3QCWTC_1GqADmKB00" width="1200" height="676" ><figcaption>Attendees celebrate the opening of Ekos on Evans with a burst of confetti during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 5 in Fort Myers. The $60.8 million development includes 144 income-restricted apartments and received $17 million in Lee County disaster-recovery funding. Evan Williams</figcaption></figure>The latest affordable housing community to open in Fort Myers, Ekos on Evans, is part of a wave of income-restricted multifamily developments in the area.Yet their growing availability lags behind demand for affordable housing — where gross rent, which includes utilities, is no more than 30% of a tenant’s income.“The need is huge throughout Southwest Florida,” said W. Patrick McDowell, chair and CEO of Miami-based McDowell Housing Partners, at the Ekos ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 5. “True rent-restricted affordable housing has really become a mainstream need in communities throughout [the state].”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2fQj4t_1GqADmKB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2fQj4t_1GqADmKB00" width="1200" height="676" ><figcaption>W. Patrick McDowell, chairman and CEO of McDowell Housing Partners, addresses guests at the Nov. 5 opening of Ekos on Evans in Fort Myers. McDowell said the 144-unit development will remain income-restricted for 99 years. Evan Williams</figcaption></figure>A surge of affordable units has come online or been planned in Southwest Florida over the last year, but supply still lags far behind demand. There were only 31 affordable units for every 100 renters earning up to 60% of the Lee County median income in 2023 — a deficit of 20,335 units, according to the University of Florida’s latest statewide rental market study.Progress is being made, but there are still “tens of thousands” of units needed in Southwest Florida, said John DeAngelis, co-founder of Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond Construction.McDowell partnered with DeAngelis to build Ekos on Evans, which includes 144 one- to three-bedroom units at 3501 Evans Ave.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0Cjt8e_1GqADmKB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0Cjt8e_1GqADmKB00" width="1200" height="676" ><figcaption>A three-story residential building at Ekos on Evans in Fort Myers is part of a new 144-unit affordable housing community at 3501 Evans Ave. Developed by McDowell Housing Partners and built by DeAngelis Diamond, the $60.8 million project includes five garden-style apartment buildings. Evan Williams</figcaption></figure>“This is a project that really provides high-level housing that’s affordable for hardworking people in our community,” DeAngelis said.A sister project in East Naples, Ekos on Creekside, is expected to open with 160 affordable units by summer 2027.Subsidized by public tax credits and grant funding, Ekos on Evans restricts rentals to those earning 30% to 70% of the area median income for 99 years, McDowell said.That commitment targets the most in-demand sector for affordable rentals, according to UF’s study.In the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in 2023, the 20,335-unit deficit fell to 17,333 units for those earning up to 80% of the median income and 8,689 units for those at 100% of the median income.In the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island metro area, 51 affordable units were available per 100 renters earning up to 60% of the median income.In the Punta Gorda metro area, there were 44 affordable units per 100 renters earning up to 60% of the median income.<h2>Photos: Inside Fort Myers’ new Ekos on Evans apartments</h2>See the new Ekos on Evans in Fort Myers, where 144 income-restricted apartments have opened. This photo gallery offers a look at the buildings, interiors, pool, playground and ribbon-cutting celebration.In Florida, 42 affordable units were available per 100 renters at the same income level.Other area affordable housing developments include Onda Housing Group’s Wave at Colonial, a 358-unit complex expected to open early next year, and Wave at Chana, a 378-unit complex.Developers say the complex financing structures and modest payoff compared with market-rate or luxury projects make them relatively scarce.Ekos developer McDowell has built a reputation as the “best-in-class, gold-standard for this project type,” said Florida Sen. Jon Martin, who spoke at the Ekos ribbon-cutting ceremony along with officials from Lee County and Fort Myers.“City, county and state come together with our partners in the private sector and that’s how we make the magic happen,” Florida Housing Board Chair Sandra Veszi Einhorn said. “That’s how we turn parcels like this into communities.”The $60.8 million Ekos on Evans project benefited from Florida Housing’s 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. It also received $17 million through Lee County’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program, part of a $1.1 billion pool of grant money the county received after Hurricane Ian.The CDBG-DR funds have been used to develop affordable housing throughout Lee County, Commissioner Kevin Ruane said at the opening celebration.“I’m always happy to bring housing costs down,” he said. “I understand what cost and what strain everyone’s going through in their wallets.”McDowell said rents at Ekos on Evans start at $516 for a one-bedroom for tenants earning 30% of Lee County’s median income and go up to $1,845 for a three-bedroom for tenants earning 70% of the median income.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0AyZ4u_1GqADmKB00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0AyZ4u_1GqADmKB00" width="1200" height="676" ><figcaption>A kitchen inside an apartment at Ekos on Evans in Fort Myers features white cabinetry, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The affordable housing community offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with rents based on household income. Evan Williams</figcaption></figure>The units are built to high-quality standards as long-term investments, McDowell added during his remarks before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Spread across five garden-style buildings, the community includes a clubhouse, resort-style pool, fitness center, grilling stations, playground, dog park and other amenities.“We build very, very high quality because we want to own these a long period of time, and we don’t want to have to deal with the hassles of building lower-quality products and the maintenance that goes along with it,” McDowell said.</div></body>

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The latest affordable housing community to open in Fort Myers, Ekos on Evans, is part of a wave of income-restricted multifamily developments in the area. Yet their growing availability lags behind demand for affordable housing — where gross rent, which includes utilities, is no more than 30% of a tenant’s income.

Ekos on Evans opens amid affordable housing shortage

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The latest affordable housing community to open in Fort Myers, Ekos on Evans, is part of a wave of income-restricted multifamily developments in the area. 

Ekos on Evans opens amid affordable housing shortage

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