Families in Apopka are seeing major improvements to their homes, thanks to a residential renovation assistance program
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) invested nearly $1 million to help eligible homeowners with critical repairs and upgrades.
For Apopka homeowner Tim Williams, the need for repairs was clear from the start.
“I knew it was an older house, so it might’ve needed some work,” Williams said.
Williams knew updates would eventually be necessary, especially given the age of the home.
“Because of the house being older, of course you wanted to get paint and stuff on it,” he said.
Williams has lived in Apopka for three years. Like many homeowners in the CRA district, he needed major repairs, but the cost made it difficult to take on those projects alone.
“Everybody is kind of living right on the line. You don’t have too much money to spend on repairs, you just live with it,” Williams said.
Through Apopka’s Community Redevelopment Agency Residential Renovation Assistance Program, eligible homeowners could receive up to $30,000 for exterior repairs and upgrades. The funding helped homeowners complete projects such as new roofs, windows, driveway repairs, porch upgrades and more, all designed to protect homes and strengthen neighborhoods.
“To date, we have awarded 33 homes. That includes 15 new roofs, that includes five ADA projects, so it was a huge win,” said Apopka Economic Development Director Antranette Forbes.
Forbes said the CRA set aside $900,000 for the program and believes it could serve as a model for other communities.
“I think that this program is a model program to be used across the state. It’s not necessarily a new program for facade improvements, but what’s new is how our board removed all the barriers to provide help between our residents and actually getting improvements done,” Forbes said.
According to Forbes, the long-term goal is to stabilize neighborhoods, increase property values, and boost economic development across Apopka. For homeowners like Williams, the impact goes beyond construction.
“They (friends) come by and they’re like, ‘Hey, I’m loving what you’re doing with the house.’ They may not realize but hey, help from the city,” Williams said.
City leaders say due to the strong response, they are hoping to offer the renovation assistance program again in the future.