Today, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded $187 million to communities impacted by Hurricane Sally through the Florida Department of Commerce’s Rebuild Florida program.
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- Rebuild Florida provides funding for local governments to strategically rebuild homes and harden infrastructure to prevent or mitigate losses from future disasters through multiple avenues.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “Today, I am happy to announce $187 million in awards to aid in recovery efforts following Hurricane Sally – an important step in helping Northwest Florida recover.”
Why this matters: Pensacola and Escambia County did very well. State Sen. Doug Broxson said, “Today’s awards will go a very long way to get people back in their homes and build up vital infrastructure to strengthen Northwest Florida’s resiliency in the face of future storms.”
City of Pensacola ($39,686,539.86) – to facilitate a stormwater infrastructure project at Hollice T. Williams Park to improve water quality and reduce stormwater in the area, to repair infrastructure at the Port of Pensacola, and to repair and improve infrastructure at the Fricker Center.
Escambia County Board of County Commissioners ($52,946,768) – to build a new state-of-the-art, energy-efficient and resilient Escambia County Area Transit Center and to make regional stormwater drainage improvements in low- and moderate-income neighborhood
Town of Century ($12,877,137) – to demolish the old Century High School Gym building located at 440 East Hecker Road and build a shelter that can also be used as a multi-purpose facility and to make drainage and road improvements at Jefferson Avenue, Freedom Road Bridge and Alger Road Bridge, which were damaged during Hurricane Sally.
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Rebuild Florida Voluntary Home Buyout Program reduces the risk of future property loss and recurrent flooding by funding the purchase and re-purposing of residential properties in high flood-risk areas – Escambia County ($3,170,114)
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The Rebuild Florida Hometown Revitalization Program is designed to support the recovery of economic activity in commercial areas of communities impacted by Hurricane Sally, facilitating the return and recovery of businesses, jobs, and provision of goods and services to the area.
City of Pensacola ($10,000,000) – to acquire, prepare and rehabilitate a targeted property at West Cervantes and North Pace Boulevard and complete a project at Baptist Hospital.
Escambia County ($5,000,000) – to improve streetscapes and add solar-powered lighting throughout low- to moderate-income areas by installing 80 new Escambia County Area Transit bus shelters and updating 32 Escambia County Area Transit Bus Shelters.
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Rebuild Florida Housing Repair and Replacement Program for Hurricane Sally is designed to provide funding for local governments to rebuild, replace or repair homes that were damaged by Hurricane Sally, helping impacted Floridians return to decent, safe and sanitary homes.
- City of Pensacola ($5,861,500)
- Escambia County ($9,000,000)
The funds are allocated to the state through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program.
FloridaCommerce is the governor-designated state authority responsible for administering all HUD long-term recovery funds awarded to the state. Rebuild Florida is a partnership between FloridaCommerce and HUD. Launched in September 2018, Rebuild Florida uses federal funding for Florida’s long-term recovery efforts from the devastating impacts of natural disasters. For more information, visit RebuildFlorida.gov.