Housing

The board will vote on whether to approve $7,500 in down payment assistance for district employees who work in schools with a high number of low-income students.

The public-private partnership links the school district with the newly formed MerryPlace LLC and the West Palm Beach Housing Authority.

This is the first time county schools will offer down payment assistance to employees, said Angela Usher, the district's manager of intergovernmental relations.

"This is only the beginning," Usher said. "We know the importance of teachers having good places to live so we can continue to have a good educational system."

The housing authority is asking for the school district's approval to meet a Friday application deadline for a grant from the Community Workforce Housing Innovation Pilot Program.

The state Legislature approved $50 million for the program to be distributed among 10 projects with a maximum of $5 million each.

The school district worked with the Housing Leadership Council of the Palm Beach Economic Council to evaluate four proposals for the partnership.

MerryPlace fit well into the school district's needs because it offers employees living accommodations near several low-income schools, including Pleasant City Elementary, U.B. Kinsey/Palmview Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, Northboro Elementary and Roosevelt Middle.

MerryPlace LLC was formed by Banc of America Community Development Corp., based in Charlotte, N.C.

Landscaping, lighting and utility work are already in progress on the site in the Pleasant City neighborhood, said Laurel Robinson, executive director of the West Palm Beach Housing Authority. The city and the housing authority committed $8.9 million for the improvements.

The development will have 16 single-family homes, 46 townhouses and 52 condominiums. Prices will be determined closer to construction time and will be along affordability guidelines and median income for the county, about $64,000 for a family of four.

"The selling price is a moving target right now," Robinson said. "But we won't be selling $300,000 homes. Condos will be in the lower end of the affordable range."

Teachers in Palm Beach County begin on $33,800, with the average teacher salary at $48,200, said school district spokesman Steve Nichol. The MerryPlace plan would use $500,000 from a fund earmarked for teacher recruitment and retention.

Pre-construction sale of condos could be within a few months with a target date for other residences by March 2008. The housing will be available to a range of workforce employees in addition to teachers.

Pleasant City was a historic community during the early part of the 20th century after Henry Flagler sparked development in Florida. The community fell into disrepair and became a dilapidated neighborhood of rental properties and boarded-up buildings marred by the drug trade, Robinson said.

The MerryPlace development is a move to return brighter times to the neighborhood, which has streets with names such as Beautiful Avenue, Comfort Place, Contentment Avenue and Cheerful Street.