No one can say that community organizations are ignoring the needs of the Duval neighborhood of east Gainesville. They’re practically tripping over each other.
In 2013, Alachua Habitat for Humanity chose Duval for neighborhood revitalization because the organization and others were already there doing home repairs, weatherization and painting, said Casey Smith, former Habitat director of development.
Habitat spearheaded a coalition of groups to identify and tackle neighborhood concerns. It included the Neighborhood Housing & Development Corp., Central Florida Community Action Agency, Rebuilding Together NCF, Gainesville Regional Utilities, the city of Gainesville, the Gainesville Housing Authority, the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency, Mount Carmel Baptist Church, Dayspring Baptist Church, Suskin Realty, Santa Fe College and the Community Weatherization Coalition.