Developers anticipate Hillcrest Village, an affordable housing development, will open at 1101 Hillcrest Drive in 2028, it was confirmed after the Hollywood City Commission unanimously approved the proposal. The next step in the process involves getting construction permits.  The developer has also committed to giving preference to certain applicants.

In an email to Inside Hillcrest, developer attorney Elizabeth Somerstein said, “leasing preference will be for individuals that live or work in the City of Hollywood, which will certainly include Hillcrest residents. There will also be a 10% leasing preference specific for veterans.”

To keep that commitment, the attorney promised that HTG will give Hillcrest residents advance notice to apply, probably starting in the fourth quarter of 2027, before developers expect the 8 story building, with 110 units and a small office on the ground floor, to open. Plans also call for a total of 157 parking spaces, although 24 of them are shared during the school day with the charter school across the street. Both properties are currently owned by the Tobin real estate concern; with Tobin expected to sell 1101 Hillcrest Drive to HTG.

“Our team looks forward to continuing our collaboration with the Hillcrest community and the City as we move through the development process,” said Ariel Fraynd, VP of Development, HTG. “It will be a priority for us to keep Hillcrest residents informed and provide advance notice once leasing becomes available.”

As background, this is not a Section 8 project. Rather, HTG is a private business that builds affordable housing rental buildings with the help of government financial incentives.

In exchange for the government aid, HTG promises to keep the building affordable for 30 years, although the term affordable housing sometimes confuses people.

In this circumstance, HTG will rent units to people who are at 30%, 60%, 70% and 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The AMI in Broward County is more than $80,000, but it is expected to be higher when Hillcrest Village opens.

Based on the current AMI, rents would range from about $700 a month to more than $2,000, Somerstein told the City Commission. Hillcrest Village will consist of 1, 2, and 3 bedroom rentals.

Previously, Somerstein announced that HTG offers a limited program that allows select residents to start to save equity after two years.

With the intervention of Vice Mayor Idelma Quintana, HTG vowed to respect the community when construction starts. Somerstein reported work crews will start work Monday through Friday at 7 am and end at 6 pm, with Saturday work hours beginning an hour later. She also indicated workers will park on the construction site property to avoid causing problems for Hillcrest and Parkview at Hillcrest neighbors. However, our current community rules only allow construction noise between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, with no work permitted on weekends. Their proposed schedule would therefore conflict with and effectively override our established regulations.

After learning about concerns from Building 20 residents, Quintana got HTG to promise to hire a structural engineer to make sure construction doesn’t harm surrounding buildings. Building 20 is the building closest to the Hillcrest Village site. At an August Hollywood Planning & Development Board meeting, a resident of that building informed City leaders that Building 20 suffered structural damage after a nearby tennis court was built.

Even though the construction of Hillcrest Village will involve more work than building a tennis court, Somerstein told the City Commission she believes the type of construction planned will not harm nearby buildings. Still, she added, the structural engineer brought in by HTG will devise a plan to try to protect neighboring buildings. According to Somerstein, HTG will also hire someone to make sure the plan from the structural engineer is followed.

The process to get approval for Hillcrest Village started last winter for Hillcrest and Parkview at Hillcrest residents. Folks met online and in person with HTG representatives and their attorneys.

Along the way, the developers learned about several concerns coming from people who already live here.  Voicing these concerns resulted in changes to the proposal, which is why the public process started last winter but has finally come to an end.