Crestview breaks ground on ‘Vineyard Village’ affordable housing project

The city of Crestview broke ground Monday on an affordable housing project that will bring 28 apartments to a 1.4-acre plot of land near downtown.

• The Vineyard Village project is a partnership between the city and Gregg Chapel A.M.E. Church out of Fort Walton Beach. It will consist of two buildings with a total of 28 apartments, an increase from the originally planned 17 units when the project was approved by the Crestview City Council in June 2022.

“One of the prime topics all around the state of Florida, in fact the whole United States, is affordable housing,” said Mayor JB Whitten at Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “We’re getting left behind in affordable housing so this project is going to bring affordable housing to the city of Crestview on property that had homes on here that weren’t being used.”

The project borders West Field Avenue and West Bowers Avenue on land that formerly had vacant homes before they were demolished to make way for the apartment buildings.

Rent for the updated plans is expected to be $900 per month for two-bedroom units and $550 per month for one-bedroom units, which Mayor Whitten said is 80% of fair market value for the area.

The project is being funded in part by a $750,000 grant from the state of Florida to cover site work. The city of Crestview is also contributing $750,000, with additional costs covered by Gregg Chapel.

Gregg Chapel has a history of providing affordable housing in the area. Since 1989, the church has developed and managed more than a dozen properties offering reduced rent apartments and homes in Fort Walton Beach and Crestview.

• The original Vineyard Village plans called for a two-story building with 14 apartments and a separate one-story building with three units for a total of 17 apartments on the Crestview property.

“What we have is A.M.E. church, city of Crestview, the state of Florida all coming together and the collaboration to make this possible,” Whitten said.