FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 3, 2024

CONTACTS: Leslie Mandell
Director of Development & Communications
lmandell@hlcpbc.org
(561) 307-2883

Diane Papadakos
Director of Communications
City of West Palm Beach
dpapadakos@wpb.org
(561) 822-1411 (TTY: 800-955-8771)

 HOUSING LEADERSHIP COUNCIL OF PALM BEACH COUNTY
ANNOUNCES SECOND HOUSING HEROES LUNCHEON WILL TAKE PLACE MAY 8

 Housing Heroes Award Winner: West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James;
Keynote Speaker: Jonathan Wolf, Founder and CEO of Wendover Housing Partners LLC  

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County announced today that its 2^nd Annual Housing Heroes Luncheon will take place on May 8, 2024, at the Kravis Center Cohen Pavilion at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Its inaugural event drew more than 350 attendees.

This year, West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James will receive the organization’s distinguished Housing Heroes Award. Since being elected Mayor in 2019, Mayor James has been working with city commissioners to create incentives for developers to build workforce/affordable housing for government employees like teachers and first responders. These efforts have led to the completion of the first new affordable downtown apartments in more than 30 years as well as securing several other projects currently under construction.

“It is rewarding and transformative to surpass our goal of 600 affordable and/or workforce housing units during my first term as Mayor.” I am proud to share that we have over 450 additional units in various stages of the pre-development process,” James said. “Public-private partnerships continue to be an important part of our vision for the continued growth of the community and addressing affordable and workforce housing needs.”

Jonathan Wolf, Founder and CEO of Wendover Housing Partners LLC will be the keynote speaker. Wendover has partnered with Universal Orlando and Orange County to construct Catchlight Crossing, a first-of-its-kind, 1,000-unit affordable housing community built near Universal Parks & Resorts in Orlando. These public-private partnerships will be key to solving the housing crisis.

Last year’s Housing Hero Award Recipient Commissioner Mack Bernard will serve as Honorary Chair of this year’s event. As the impact of the county’s housing crisis upon residents and employers deepened with the onset of the pandemic, Commissioner Bernard became a leading advocate and spokesperson for the successful ballot initiative in November 2022 for $200 million in Housing Bonds to construct affordable and workforce housing.

 At the ceremony, winners will be announced for the Not-for-Profit Developer of the Year, the For-Profit Developer of the Year, and the Housing Impact Award. Finalists will be announced in the coming weeks.

The luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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About the Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County: The Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County is a coalition of community leaders working to sustain the economic viability of the County by supporting financially feasible and sustainable housing opportunities for all residents through education, policy research and initiatives, advocacy, and facilitating partnerships.