Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 6-5-20

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Hillsborough County OKs Nearly $20 Million For Affordable Housing
Funds provided by fed- eral and state grants, County Trust Fund
Affordable housing re- mains a top priority of Hills- borough County’s Board of County Commissioners, even during the COVID-19 pan- demic. Packaging $19.76 million of grants and County funds to provide affordable multifamily homes reflects that commitment to helping low-income residents find decent places to live.
On May 20th, the Board unanimously backed the grants plan presented by the County’s Affordable Housing Services. The money will be used to build new multifam- ily housing complexes and rehabilitate existing ones to accommodate 260 house- holds with low-income rents.
Affordable Housing Serv- ices seeks and allocates fed- eral and state funding to create housing and commu- nity development strategies for low-and- moderate-in- come residents. It pulled to- gether the multimillion-dollar package from multiple sources, in- cluding the HOME Invest- ment Partnerships Program, the Community Develop- ment Block Grant Program (CDBG), the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Pro- gram (SHIP), and the Local Housing Fund (HOPE Act) administered by Affordable Housing Services.
County commissioners in September established the HOPE trust fund, pledging to set aside $10 million annu- ally to provide affordable housing. Eighty percent of the fund must be spent on housing for low- and very- low income families and in- dividuals. The $10 million in trust fund money supple- ments other County funds dedicated to providing af- fordable housing.
The seven recipients of the awards, and their pro- posed projects, are:
University Area Com-
munity Development Corporation, Uptown Sky, $5.82 million
New Vision Commu- nities and Wendover Housing Partners, Ful- ham Terrace Apartments, $5 million
East Tampa Business and Civic Association, Park Sands Townhomes, $3,577,350
Catholic Charities Diocese of St. Peters- burg, Mercy Oaks, $2,443,250
New Life Village, NLV MF Development, Phase II, $1,736,820
Volunteers of Amer- ica of Florida, Arbor Place Apartments, $667,946
Rendering of Uptown Sky, University Area Community Devel- opment Corporation.
County leaders evaluated the applicants and their propos- als. Among the factors con- sidered: Each applicant’s financial stability, its devel- opment plan, and inclusion of environmentally-friendly features such as energy-sav- ing appliances, sealed win- dows, and low-flow toilets.
Two hundred of the resi- dential units will be new con- struction. The remaining 60 will be renovated existing buildings.
Ideally, all the projects will be completed and ready to occupy within two years. Acquisition of residences deemed suitable for renova- tion could begin this sum- mer.
Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County,
Mason St. Manor, $515,827 A panel of Hillsborough
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