Located in Overtown, Palm Plaza has been a family-owned affordable housing complex for nearly 50 years. Purchased by Evans H. Starke in the late 1970s for $13,000, it has been providing homes to Overtown residents for generations. After Starke’s passing in 2020, his son Leonardo inherited the property. However, the building was in desperate need of renovations that cost over a million dollars, a sum the family struggled to afford.
The initiative assists small property owners and developers in managing their land by helping them secure public funding grants and providing support with permitting and zoning regulations. Miami’s Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has also been key in the process; it provided the Starke family with $900,000 for renovations and offered temporary housing for current residents to occupy during construction.
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