DEO Accepting Applications for Citizen Advisory Committee for Mitigation

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) Rebuild Florida Mitigation Program is now accepting applications and nominations for its Citizen Advisory Committee for Mitigation. Required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Committee will serve as a liaison between the communities and citizens located in state and HUD-designated Most Impacted and…

Public Workshops and Webinar to Access Nearly $47 Million in Mitigation Funding for Hurricane Michael Impacted Communities

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced that communities impacted by Hurricane Michael will have the opportunity to attend upcoming public workshops and a webinar to provide input on the state’s efforts to access $46.9 million in federal mitigation funding. To access this long-term mitigation funding, the Department will work with state agencies…

Fort Myers CRA Board of Commissioners Approves NEW CRA Home Preservation Program and Partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties

Fort Myers, FL. On March 17, the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is proud to announce that its new Home Preservation Program will partner with Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties (Habitat). Homeowners with outstanding code violations may qualify to have projects/repairs completed by Habitat. The maximum assistance is $25,000 owner-occupied dwellings…

Guest column: Successful public private partnerships

We have heard a lot recently about public-private partnerships, most notably in the debate over the redevelopment agreement between Jacksonville and the Jaguars to develop Lot J. Broadly speaking, public-private partnerships or PPPs are collaborations between the public and private sectors to facilitate development projects and build public facilities and infrastructure. A few years ago,…

Small rural counties and cities receive business development grants

Fourteen small rural counties and cities recently received grants totaling $348,400 for site preparation projects designed to lure new businesses to the area. The awards are part of Enterprise Florida Inc’s (EFI) Rural Expansion Toolkit initiative to assist rural communities with broad-based economic engagement and capacity building efforts. “Many rural communities throughout the state that…