The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced an agreement with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation to provide $140 million for the construction of new affordable workforce housing to help address housing shortages worsened by Hurricane Irma.
The funding is awarded by DEO’s Rebuild Florida program and will be administered by Florida Housing.
“I’m proud to announce $140 million in funding to assist Floridians recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Irma,” Gov. Ron DeSantis stated. “Communities across our state have demonstrated incredible resilience following recent natural disasters and my administration remains committed to assisting in recovery efforts with all available resources.”
Through this agreement, the Rebuild Florida Workforce Housing Program will provide $140 million to fund the creation of quality resilient affordable housing units.
Florida Housing will launch a competitive application cycle, allowing housing developers and public housing authorities with experience in the development and management of rental properties to apply for funding. Local governments may partner with these entities to apply for funds.
Any proposed developments must help address the unmet recovery needs in the federally-identified most impacted and distressed areas.
All developments funded will be required to meet the following criteria:
– Green Building Standards
– Energy Efficiency Standards
– Accessibility and Visitability Standards
– Resiliency Standards
Rebuild Florida, a partnership of DEO and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, launched in September 2018 to use federal funding for Florida’s long-term disaster recovery efforts.
