- May 22, 2026
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A Miami affordable housing developer has sued Sarasota County, alleging it wrongfully took away $1 million it had committed for a project the firm is working on in North Port. The firm, Miami-based McDowell Housing Partners — one of the more prolific affordable housing developers in Florida — contends the county violated the company’s right to due process. It is asking the court to quash the decision.
McDowell Housing Partners President Christopher Shear, in an email to the Business Observer, says the company believes "Sarasota County’s actions were arbitrary, wrongful and contrary to the public interest.”
"Our position is that at its core, this case is about whether a county can competitively award affordable housing funds, confirm that commitment in writing, allow a developer to rely on that commitment and then rescind the award without notice while treating similarly situated projects differently," Shear adds. "We believe the public deserves to understand that this project was funded, environmentally cleared, financially closed and under construction when the county moved to strip away the committed funding."
Sarasota County officials, both commissioners and staff, in public meetings and in documents, say the funding decision was reversed due to some aspects of the project that changed.
McDowell is creating Ekos at Arbor Park II, which will contain 66 apartments available to those making 30% to 70% of the area median income. A garden-style apartment community, Ekos at Arbor Park II will be located at 1511 W. Price Blvd. It will consist of three buildings, including one with ground-level commercial space. North Port is in south Sarasota County.
In July 2024, following a competitive grant process, Sarasota County awarded $1 million to McDowell for the construction of Ekos at Arbor Park II through Resilient SRQ. That's a Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program that provides funds for projects, including multifamily affordable housing programs, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
McDowell planned to use the funding toward acquiring property and obtained permission to switch the funding allocation from construction to site acquisition in October 2024, documents show.
“In reliance on that commitment, we closed our financing and bridged the County’s $1 million contribution so the project could proceed,” McDowell Housing Partners President Christopher Shear tells the Business Observer in a May 21 email.
The developer closed on the 4.4 acres on West Price Boulevard for $2 million in September 2025, according to Sarasota County property records.
Construction on Ekos at Arbor Park II began in late September 2025 and is expected to take 18 months. The project cost is estimated to be more than $22 million and is being financed with 9% low-income housing tax credits.
After construction started, the developer was still working with the county and its lenders on various agreements.
Then, on March 3, Sarasota County commissioners unanimously voted to rescind Ekos at Arbor Park II's $1 million grant funding. The decision was made "based on concerns the Board had with the project” after “negotiations stalled” over funding agreements, land use restriction agreements and subordination agreements, Sarasota County Attorney Joshua Moye said in an April 14 memo to commissioners, which was provided to the Business Observer.
“Our office will defend the Board’s decision,” Moye wrote in his memo.
While the North Port affordable housing project remains underway, Shear, in remarks on March 3 to commissioners after the county pulled the $1 million, said losing funding “does jeopardize the project."
In the email answering questions from the Business Observer, Shear reiterates that the company's position is vulnerable due to the county's action.
“Ekos at Arbor Park II remains under construction but will be in a precarious position by the time we complete construction if we don’t fill the funding gap created by the county’s funding rescission,” Shear says in the note. “The loss of that funding is significant. It created a real gap in the project’s capital stack and placed pressure on the project’s construction financing."
How did commissioners come to their decision?
Before taking a vote on March 3, the commissioners received updates on multiple projects that had been awarded Resilient SRQ funds. That included Ekos at Arbor Park II.
Sarasota County’s Office of Financial Management Program Management Division Manager Steve Hyatt said there had been multiple “back and forth” agreements that had to be executed “to get over the finish line” for the Ekos at Arbor Park II, since funds were awarded in July 2024.
Because the developer had already purchased the property, Hyatt, at that March 3 meeting, expressed a concern about the need for the funding.
“All the funds that are awarded to these programs are for unmet needs,” Hyatt said of the disaster relief projects. “So to have on paper that the project has financially closed and funds have been allocated towards the acquisition costs by McDowell Housing Partners, as the developer demonstrates on paper that there was the capital and funds needed to complete the project and commence construction…that's a conversation — a difficult one — that we may have someday with HUD as to what it is exactly, what hole are we exactly filling here.”
Commissioners unanimously voted to rescind the $1 million in funding after a brief discussion.
“There are other projects in this county that could use $1 million, and quite frankly, I think they would respect the money,” Commissioner Teresa Mast said. “I don't think there would be this professional arguing or negotiating.”
Another commissioner also took issue with the length of negotiations.
“I just don't think it's a good use of our time or your staff's time,” Commissioner Joe Neunder said in remarks directed to Hyatt. “You have multiple other applications and applicants that need your attention and expertise through this process.”
In its petition, filed April 2 in Sarasota County Circuit Court, McDowell seeks a writ of certiorari, or judicial review. The developer has asked that the commissioners’ decision to rescind its funding be quashed on the basis that the county violated the company’s right to due process and made a decision not supported by substantial evidence.
Sarasota County confirmed in writing the award of the $1 million, according to the petition, which is supported by a letter from Hyatt dated June 26, 2025. In the letter, intended to facilitate closing on the site, Hyatt wrote that Sarasota County “remains committed to providing the awarded CDBG-DR funding for the project,” noting that the project had received HUD environmental clearance and “funds for the CDBG-DR funding are specifically earmarked and appropriated for Ekos at Arbor Park II and will be available for distribution to the project as soon as the Subrecipient Agreement is finalized and executed and the draw process is completed.”
McDowell contends revocation of the funding, awarded through a competitive process, “directly affected property interests” and was “akin to revoking a license or permit awarded to a business,” creating a constitutionally protected interest entitling the business to procedural due process before any decision to revoke such a commitment.
The developer writes in its petition that it was not “given fair notice or a meaningful opportunity to be heard” and alleges commissioners made their decision based on Hyatt’s presentation, which was a “selectively presented record” that did not account for delays incurred by the county. The company also alleges Hyatt “presented the board with a misleadingly narrow and inaccurate account of the status of the project,” according to its petition, which says the presentation did not reflect “how far the process had already advanced.”
A Sarasota County spokesperson declined to discuss McDowell's allegations, saying the county does not comment on active and pending litigation.
In rescinding the funding, Shear says commissioners diverged from what is best for their constituents. “It is our understanding," he writes in the email, "that at a time when Sarasota County faces a serious affordable housing crisis, public funding decisions should be transparent, consistent and compliant with applicable local, state and federal requirements, including HUD CDBG-DR program rules.”
While judicial review is ongoing, the developer has asked the court to order an injunction preventing Sarasota County from reallocating, committing, disbursing or otherwise redirecting the $1 million it was awarded through the Resilient SRQ disaster relief program.
A civil trial in that case is scheduled for Jan. 24, 2028.
McDowell Housing Partners has 10 projects with 1,541 units currently under construction or completed in Florida. It also developed Ekos at Arbor Park in North Port, a 136-unit affordable housing apartment complex on Citizens Parkway for those ages 55 and up. Its portfolio includes Ekos Cadenza in Naples and Ekos on Santa Barbara in Fort Myers as well.
