Jeffrey Johnson has been waiting for nearly a decade to buy a house.
When the 58-year-old learned about the program of a nonprofit that sells affordable homes to low-income Liberty City homes, he filled out the paperwork in 2017 and sent it to a lender.
But there were many starts and stops. After being approved, he was hoping to move to a house near Northwest 64th and 17th Avenue in 2020. The pandemic then hit. Meanwhile, the cost of the house has increased from $205,000 to more than $300,000, he said. And to close it, he had to reapply twice more for pre-approval.
Johnson, who works in the county water and sewerage department and lives in a public housing project, said he would drive from home after he realized it was built and the work had stopped.
“We presented the documents and everything to the lender,” he said. “We hadn’t heard anything from them anymore, so now I’m on 17th Avenue, but the house is still in that state.”
And now there’s another problem. It’s a feud between the executive director of the nonprofit, Neighbors and Neighbors Association Leroy Jones, and county commissioner Keon Hardemon, who has 30 such assets thanks to taking over for housing.
The nonprofit purchased the land from the county. The land regularly sells so-called “surplus” lots, allowing it to be converted into a home with a price cap aimed at making the property more affordable. Developers can buy lots up to $10, but they can’t sell more houses they’ve built than the county directs them to.
Developers can buy property cheaply, but in many cases, even if the developer secures construction subsidies from the county or other sources, they still require sewer connections and other upfront costs.
In 2023, Jones’ organization requested an extension to maintain control of 30 lots, but the request was never approved by Hardemon, who sponsored the extension request and had to obtain approval from the county commission. On February 27, the organization’s leader received a letter from Miami-Dade County Housing and Community Development informing them that 30 properties they own were out of compliance and would be reclaimed to the county unless the issues were resolved. The letter dated February 25th gave 30 days to fix the issue.
Jones said the eight lots have unfinished homes, but others said they are vacant. He pointed straight to Hardemon’s finger and told him he hadn’t approved the extension.
“He’s not only harming him, he’s also harming the families who have promised these homes… They had to make sure their credit was correct, they had to make sure they had to make sure they could pay for the home,” Jones said at a press conference outside the incomplete home on Tuesday.
“Their trust and work are at risk now, because it was too long for them to wait for these houses to be filled, built and moved,” he continued. “These are black families waiting for these homes. Some of them live in this direct neighborhood and in his district, where he endures from progress.”
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Behind the feud
The fight centers around a program that provides 13 county commissioners with the ability to select the few developers owned by Miami-Dade, but decides they don’t need it anymore. Developers must agree to build the home based on the county price restrictions and eligibility rules, and in fact receive the land.
Housing in the county’s “Infill Housing” program tends to be sold on county ceilings under $451,000, given the buyer’s ability to pay, market fees for real estate neighborhoods, and subsidy developer restrictions could be acquired for construction. The latest county report on the program showed an average selling price of $305,000 for 51 homes sold under the program in 2023. Developers included for-profit companies, Habitat for Humanity and other nonprofit organizations.
The commissioner allowed more than two dozen lots to the Neighbors and Neighbors Association in 2016 when Hardemon’s seating was held by then-Audrey Edmonson.
So why haven’t homes been built yet in many homes where neighbors and neighbors gained control before Hardemon took office? Jones blamed the 2020 coronavirus challenges, funding for disability funding and funding for disability due to the construction delays caused by the 2020 election. The two are political rivals, and Jones supported Edmonson’s attempt to regain her seat in the 2024 election.
Tensions between Hardemon and Jones were reported earlier this year when neighbors and neighbor leaders came to the committee meeting on January 22nd to seek more county funds. Hardemont threatened at least one comment from the nonprofit leaders, saying that fellow commissioners persuaded them to approve a short suspension of funds for brotherly love for neighbors, neighbors and related nonprofits.
The funding freeze was lifted two weeks later, and Jones and Hardemon appeared to settle with the embrace at the county commission meeting on February 4th. But Jones now says Hardemon didn’t offer a promised meeting to smooth out conflicts with nonprofits. That includes the extensions Jones wants in the residential lot.
Jones said he is trying to get Hardemon’s support for the extension to allow the construction plan to be viable. He said it is unfair to select his group for construction issues that delayed, if the other lot owners also have idle land, while pursuing funding, permits and other steps necessary to start the building.
“You can’t point your fingers at us,” he said. “You have to point your finger in the process.”
In an email to the Miami Herald before the press conference, Hardemon did not respond directly to Jones’ allegations that Hardemon supported the construction process. Hardemon did not say whether to consider the expansion requested by Jones, but he had critical words of the non-profit leadership behind the development efforts.
“I look forward to hearing their complaints and will soon make decisions regarding healthy decisions and contract flaws,” he said.
However, during the fight, Johnson is irritated and wants his own home. He remains patient, but Johnson said the down payment he had when he was approved was gone.
“I couldn’t live without helping my family,” he said. “I work every day. I’m doing house improvements. I have my own side job. I work as a handyman service and still have kids.
“I haven’t heard the answer.”
Johnson isn’t the only one waiting for his new home.
Jones estimated that around 30 families were still waiting for a home to be built by the nonprofit. Some people send notifications that they want to exclude them from the contract and pursue other options.
On November 28, 2023, a letter from Hardemon’s office indicated that the commissioner would seek an extension to complete the building, but Jones said it would never be allowed. Jones repeatedly contacted Hardemon to meet up with the extension and discuss it, but said he had never heard anything.
“Can I say that after a long wait, I can continue to bring hope and comfort to them?” Jones said he would become a homebuyer. “After going through everything they were supposed to, they held up, not because of themselves, and that’s sad for me.”
“It’s about giving people the opportunity to leave wealth with their families. And can you leave better wealth than a house, especially a brand new home?” he continued.
Like Johnson, 64-year-old Angela Albury has not given up on the fight for the home. She was approved for her home at the end of 2019, and her dream of buying a home was also delayed by the pandemic.
“I haven’t heard the answer since. I’ve been waiting. Every time I ask, he has no information for me,” she said pointing to Jones. “I went to a meeting. I lost time from work because I couldn’t get the answer.”
Albury said she was encouraged by members of her church to apply for the program. At the time, her credit score was in the 700s. Now she said, she is afraid to check it after suspecting multiple credit checks painted her score.
Still, something optimistic came along, and like Johnson, she waited patiently, without plans to break her contract. For now, she lives in an apartment in Liberty City.
“I am obedient. I have faith, and I believe in the highest,” she said. “I’m not leaving because I have a contract.”
Despite their differences, Jones said he still hopes Hardemon signs off for the extension.
“I’ve always believed in hope and change, and I still have the hope that even after all this, we can all work together,” Jones said. “I think with all that, Commissioner Hardemon has the heart to make this right. It’s not too late.”
