A coalition of private and philanthropic investors announced a $20 million affordable-housing loan fund in Jacksonville on Aug. 20, one week after the City Council Finance Committee moved $4.9 million proposed for affordable housing into a special council contingency account.

The Jacksonville Growth and Affordability Partnership Fund, called the Jax GAP Fund, aims to help finance about $80 million in affordable multifamily rental projects across Duval County. The fund will provide low-cost gap-financing loans to developers that have major financing in place but need additional capital to begin construction. For Mandarin residents, the countywide housing shortage is paramount. The University of Florida Shimberg Center for Housing Studies found 48 affordable and available units for every 100 extremely low-income Duval County renter households, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.

Northern Trust Wealth Management anchored the fund with $10 million. The Jessie Ball duPont Fund contributed $5 million, The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida and its donors added $3 million, and Pinnacle Financial Partners put in $2 million, the Daily Record reported.

"This is a generational investment," Jacksonville City Council member Rahman Johnson said at the Aug. 20 announcement. "Twenty million dollars matters. But what matters even more is what those dollars can unlock, how many families they can serve and how many times that capital can be recycled and put back to work."

Johnson Cast the Lone Dissenting Vote on Council

Johnson represents District 14 and cast the only opposing vote when the Finance Committee moved the proposed housing funding into a special council contingency account Aug. 13. The committee vote was 7-1, according to Jax Today.

How the Fund Will Work

Self-Help Ventures Fund, a North Carolina nonprofit that runs five similar programs, will administer the Jax GAP Fund. The model targets developers who already have bond financing, tax credits and senior debt but face a remaining financing gap — typically the final 25% of project costs — that prevents a project from closing.

Loans will generally run 15 years at 4% interest, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record, with rates up to 6.25% depending on the project. As developers repay loans over a 20-year period, Self-Help returns capital to investors for reinvestment, making the fund revolving.

Projects must serve tenants earning 80% of area median income or less, with preference for those at 60% AMI or below. The exact income limit depends on household size and HUD's annually published income-limit tables; a 50% AMI income limit is not calculated simply by dividing the area median family income in half.

Council's Separate Move on Housing Funding

The fund's launch came after the Finance Committee voted Aug. 13 to move affordable-housing line items from Mayor Donna Deegan's proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget into a special council contingency account. The committee voted 7-1 on three motions led by council member Rory Diamond, with Council President Nick Howland seconding two of them, according to committee records:

  • $1.5 million for a down-payment-assistance homeownership program
  • $2.4 million for the Local Capital Stack for Attainable Housing Program
  • $1 million for the Attainable Housing Tap Fee Fund

The funds were not permanently eliminated from the overall budget. The special contingency designation means the full council could later appropriate the money for housing through legislation or another budget action, but the money is not automatically restored, according to Jax Today.

The action followed the council's 2024 removal of $10 million from Deegan's first proposed affordable housing trust fund, according to Jax Today. It is more accurate to call this the second major council rejection or deferral of Deegan-backed housing funding, rather than the "second year running."

Chris Crothers, the duPont Fund's director of impact investing, told the Jacksonville Daily Record that the investors could seek city funding in the future and that the GAP Fund's success could spur council action in upcoming budget discussions.

What's Next

Amanda Frazer Wong, president of Self-Help Ventures Fund, said the group had already heard from interested developers and would announce projects soon. Developers can learn more at self-help.org/JaxGAP.

The full City Council is scheduled to consider the fiscal year 2026-27 budget in September. The $4.9 million in housing funding could be directed back to affordable housing only through further council action, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record.