An apartment complex near West Palm Beach, built on the promise that all of its 288 units would be designated for workforce housing, has received county permission to break that promise to avoid being foreclosed upon.
John Roach, the land-use planner representing Pine Ridge Apartments, informed county commissioners that the owners faced a choice: Ether request that the promise be broken or face foreclosure because rental income is not covering expenses.
The 19-year-old program requires developers building houses or apartments in unincorporated areas of the county to set aside units as workforce housing, meaning that those units must be sold at levels affordable to workers…