| Sarasota, FL:
The City of Sarasota and Sarasota County through the Office
of Housing and Community Development will receive a $23 million
grant from the federal government for neighborhood stabilization
programs, which will include the construction of Janie’s
Garden Phase III. Sarasota is just one of 56 organizations
in the nation to be awarded one of the competitive grants,
according to HUD, which made the announcement yesterday.
The grant money is earmarked for the North
Sarasota area for four specific uses:
• Purchase, rehabilitate and sell 100
foreclosed houses – approx. $17 million
• Construction of Janie’s Garden Phase III public
housing project - approx. $2.5 million
• Construction of 17 houses on vacant property - approx.
$1.7 million
• Purchase and raze dilapidated houses - approx. $100,000
The boundaries of the grant area roughly are:
University Pkwy. to the north; Ringling Blvd. to the south;
Tamiami Trail to the west and Lockwood Ridge Rd. to the east.
The grants awarded were based on the most innovative
ideas throughout the country. “This is great news for
the Sarasota community,” said Don Hadsell, Director
 of
the Sarasota Office of Housing and Community Development (OCHD).
“I really think we received this award because plans
were already in place to revitalize North Sarasota. It’s
the City Commission’s top priority. But, when the housing
market crashed, it delayed our efforts,” said Hadsell.
For example, funding for the Janie Poe Phase III project dried
up at the state level and it was expected to be delayed.
OHCD received a similar $7.1 million neighborhood
stabilization grant last March. Those funds currently are
being used to purchase foreclosed properties in North Port,
unincorporated Sarasota County and the Bee Ridge Corridor.
By collaborating with a national firm, OHCD receives early
notification when a foreclosed property is about to be placed
on the market. OHCD also works closely with the Florida Solar
Institute to ensure that rehabilitated houses are energy efficient.
“We are performing very well with that program,”
said Hadsell.
“So, it may have given us an edge with
the $23 million grant we just received.” HUD recently
invited OHCD to speak at a statewide conference about Sarasota’s
successful program.
The $23 million grant is funded through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with an emphasis on
redeveloping economically depressed areas and  creating
jobs. The rehabilitation of more than 100 houses and the construction
of Janie’s Garden Phase III will boost employment in
the local construction industry. “All these jobs will
be in the building sector which has been especially hard hit
in Sarasota. Instead of building new homes we’ll be
rehabilitating already existing houses, and we’ll put
unemployed workers back to work,” said Hadsell.
For more information contact Don Hadsell, Office
of Housing and Community Development: donald.hadsell@sarasotagov.com
To learn more about HUD’s Neighborhood
Stabilization Program visit: www.hud.gov
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