Three Affordable Housing Properties to Benefit from $1.4M in Disaster Recovery Funds
The Broward County Housing Authority was awarded a $1.4 million grant by the Broward County Housing Finance and Community Development Division, which will be used to strengthen three of its multifamily rental communities to better withstand storms.
By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor
Deerfield Beach, Fla.—The Broward County Housing Authority was awarded a $1.4 million grant by the Broward County Housing Finance and Community Development Division, which will be used to strengthen three of its multifamily rental communities to better withstand storms.
The properties are Highland Gardens, Park Ridge Court and College Gardens; the latter located in Dania Beach, Fla., and the others in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
The money comes from a Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) Disaster Recovery Initiative from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
“These are all affordable housing and we were looking at our capital backlog and looking at older properties and selected these three when these funds became available,” Ann Deibert, CEO of Broward County Housing Authority, tells MHN. “We had the benefit of receiving DRI funds the previous year and we used those on some earlier properties based on need. This time, we decided to submit for mitigation work on these three properties.”
Mitigation work at the properties will include installing new roof systems and other hurricane-resistant improvements, such as installing resistant exterior louvers to better seal the buildings.
Located at 335 NE 48th St., in Deerfield Beach, Highland Gardens offers 100 single-bedroom units of low income housing for seniors. Park Ridge Court, located at 5200 NE 5th Terrace in Deerfield Beach, offers 37 three-bedroom affordable units; and College Gardens, at 1555 SW 12th Ave., Dania Beach, offers 40 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom units.
“There were three events in Florida that allowed the state to receive funding because of excessive storm damage. The three properties will have more of a mitigation and hardening of the buildings, not so much that they sustained damage,” Deibert says. “We have experienced some storm damage in the past and want to ensure that families living in our properties will be safe should another storm hit. The funds do allow you to mitigate in the extent of a future wind event.”
The BCHA creates housing opportunities for nearly 12,000 county residents by utilizing public and private funding. It focuses on providing affordable housing through the ownership/management of properties, administration of rental subsidies and counseling of homeowners and prospective owners.
“We have a backlog of needs and it’s really a matter of trying to leverage what we can in order to make repairs and prepare these properties,” Deibert says. “Damage sustained during recent hurricane seasons made establishing a culture of preparedness one of Florida’s highest priorities.”
All work is expected to begin in the next month and completed by late summer.
