Ability Housing has bought Riverton Tower Senior Center in Arlington. | Ability HousingAbility Housing has bought Riverton Tower Senior Center in Arlington. | Ability Housing
Ability Housing has bought Riverton Tower Senior Center in Arlington. | Ability Housing

Nonprofit developer buys affordable housing in Arlington

Published on October 27, 2023 at 10:47 am

A nonprofit housing developer has bought the Riverton Tower Senior Center in Arlington for $500,000.

Ability Housing bought the 12-story tower at 5353 Arlington Expressway, which includes 120 units of affordable rental housing for people 62 and older. It once served as the primary campus for Jones College.

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In a news release Thursday, Ability Housing said it would upgrade some systems this year and make major renovations later. The company plans to convert underused areas to apartments to increase the total number of units to 160.

All active leases will remain in place, Ability Housing said. The building includes a pool, laundry facilities, library, computer lab and a dock on the St. Johns River, at the base of the Mathews Bridge. Rental rates start at $879 for studio units, $941 and up for one-bedroom apartments and $1,129 and up for two-bedroom apartments.

Riverton Tower was buil in 1962 and has been managed by Riverton Tower Senior Center Inc., another nonprofit.

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“Riverton Tower Senior Center is a special property with a long, rich history in Northeast Florida,” Shannon Nazworth, president and CEO of Ability Housing, said in the news release. “In today’s competitive real estate market, it’s rare to have the opportunity to transfer a property of this significance from one nonprofit organization to another.

“We are honored to add this community to our portfolio and look forward to embarking on improvements to bring this historic asset up to the modern standards that its residents deserve.”


author image Senior News Director

Randy comes to Jacksonville from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where as metro editor, he led investigative coverage of the Parkland school shooting that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service. He has spent more than 40 years in reporting and editing positions in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Florida. 

author image Senior News Director

Randy comes to Jacksonville from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where as metro editor, he led investigative coverage of the Parkland school shooting that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service. He has spent more than 40 years in reporting and editing positions in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Florida. 


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