The Jacksonville Housing Authority board's rejection of CEO Cheron Corbett Waller's request to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars from affordable housing development fees has put a spotlight as well on the authority's venture into the world of public-private partnerships.
Waller proposed getting a 12% cut from development fees and used a scenario where the housing authority gets a $2 million development fee and her compensation would be $240,000. That would be on top of her regular $300,000 salary.
The housing authority currently is working with a private partner on a plan to build a new apartment complex in the Eastside neighborhoodthat Waller said could result in the authority getting a development fee of $4 million to $5 million. A 12%
piece of that would be $480,000 to $600,000.
JTA board members pushed back on that kind of arrangement when Waller brought it to them at their Oct. 18 meeting.
"I can't in good faith be on the board and have a year where the CEO can make $1 million," board Chair Daniel Blanchard said. "I just don't think that's appropriate."
He added that the housing authority's past efforts before Waller became CEO to create affordable housing backfired on the authority's finances when it purchased the Westwood apartment complex on the Westside, bought land off Normandy Boulevard for a future housing development and acquired the old Franklin Arms apartment complex in the Eastside neighborhood.
"They're all just financial drains on this organization," he said. "I feel like we're setting money on fire and I just have a really hard time getting behind that."
Board member Heather Horovitz suggested the board could approve a smaller payout to Waller from development fees.
"Why not look at a lower number?" Horovitz said. "If we're getting heartburn from the 12%, why not say 3% or 5%?"
The board ultimately decided to vote down the entirety of Waller's request, which also sought a $30,000 performance bonus, to come back at a later board meeting and decide on any compensation increases for her.
Housing Authority CEO questioned over values for compensation ask
The board meeting marked the second time Waller asked to get paid from development fees. She also sought that arrangement in early 2025 when she was negotiating her original contract to come to Jacksonville from a housing authority in the Chicago area where she said her contract contained that provision.
"So I'm just bringing it back up again," she told the board on Oct 18, adding it was "just a proposal."
Board member Robin Smith pressed her on whether that kind of personal financial gain squares with the values of a public agency like the housing authority.
"So if we as a board approved a project with a fee of $2 million, you think it's appropriate for you personally to take home $240,000?" Smith said.
"I absolutely do, based on industry standards and based on being a subject matter expert in my career path," Waller said. "Absolutely yes for non-federal funds."
The non-federal funds part is a key reason Jacksonville and other public housing authorities have been turning to public-private partnerships in order to carry out their mission while the federal government has been dialing back its funding for housing authorities.
The Jacksonville Housing Authority partnered with Vestcor Companies to build The Waves apartment complexthat opened in 2021 in Jacksonville Beach using low income housing tax credits.
In 2024, the housing authority did its first-ever bond offering and raised $41 million to buy and renovate the 256-unit Westwood Apartments on Lane Avenue South.
The Westwood acquisition followed the November 2023 purchase of Downtown East Apartment, formerly called Franklin Arms, for $8 million in the Eastside neighborhood.
The authority paid $2.4 million in March 2023 for land off Normandy Boulevard on the Westside for a planned housing development. That land remains vacant.
Blanchard, who joined the housing authority board in September 2025, said those three acquisitions have been terrible and the authority "probably should have never gotten into any of them." He said the housing authority should focus instead on operating its housing complexes and the housing choice voucher program so those run like a "well-oiled machine."
"I think we need to stick to our core mission and do that really, really well," he said.
Waller, who started as CEO in April 2025, said going forward, the housing authority will work to restructure the debt for the Westwood acquisition.
"Was it a bad deal when it was voted on?" Waller said. "Absolutely."
For the Franklin Arms acquisition, she said she can't "turn back the hands of time" on what the authority paid for it.
"But I think what we will not do is allow an asset like that to be a blight on the Eastside community," Waller said. "It has to be addressed."
Housing authority plans new apartments for seniors in Eastside
The housing authority's purchase of the apartment building, which had long been a source of complaints about crime and code violations, had strong support from LIFT JAX, a coalition of business and community leaders trying to eliminate generational poverty in the Eastside.
The authority originally was going to renovate the building, which dates back to 1971, but that wasn't a viable because of its condition. The authority instead moved residents out of the building and will tear it down, making way for a planned new senior community that would have a mix of income levels.
The housing authority would team up with Paces Preservation Partners for construction of the new apartments with a total development cost of $50 million. Like the Waves development in Jacksonville Beach, the Eastside development would use low-income housing tax credits for financing.
City Council backed the housing authority's plans by approving planned unit development zoning for the site and authorizing a $1 million low-interest loan for the building demolition.
But on the question of compensation from development fees, council members sided with the housing authority board's decision. City Council member Rory Diamond called on Waller to resign, saying the money she sought is for helping poor residents in need of housing, not compensation for the CEO.
City Council President Nick Howland said Waller's request was "very objectionable" and the board's response was a "perfect example" of how a board should govern an independent agency.
"I think oftentimes we see in the independent authorities all around Jacksonville people who are on the boards get too friendly with the CEOs," he said. "Their job is not to work for the CEOs. It's to work for the people of Jacksonville."
Mayor Donna Deegan also agreed with the board.
"We support the board fulfilling its oversight duties and putting a stop to this inappropriate compensation arrangement," spokesman Phil Perry said.
He said the housing authority should do what it can to be part of the city's broader strategy for expanding affordable housing options, including for very low-income residents.
"It just shouldn't be tied to compensation in this way," Perry said.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: 'Money on fire': JHA chair questions its affordable housing ventures
