Since the early 1980s, when a new, wider Overseas Highway made the drive down the islands safer and more pleasant, the juggernauts of tourism and development have been sending more and more people to the nation's southernmost point. In Key West, the drive for tourism has led to the conversion of large old Conch homes into guest houses. Once, many of those old homes were broken up into apartments, rented by waitresses and fishing guides and hotel desk clerks. The system for divvying up the few new home permits rates applications with points. Would-be builders gain points by adding environmentally friendly features and buying vacant land for conservation.
Critics say it has made building a new home in the Keys possible only for the wealthy.
Twenty percent of those new homes are set aside for affordable, or moderately priced projects. The affordable housing task force proposes changing the ratio so at least 60 percent of new homes are affordable. While building new homes gets more expensive, existing homes are snapped up as vacation and retirement retreats by wealthy people from elsewhere, driving prices up even more. Carl Hagensen knows the story behind the tourism boom's effect on the housing market first hand. He has been kicked out of three apartments to make way for their conversion into tourist lodging, either as guest houses or vacation rentals.