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Escambia Considers Creation Of Blighted Ensley Redevelopment Area
December 6, 2014
A proposal is on the table in Escambia County to designate the Ensley Redevelopment Area.
At a meeting next week, the Escambia County Commission is set to consider a portion of Ensley as a blighted area with a shortage of affordable housing for low and moderate income housing and that there exists a need for for the “rehabilitation conservation, redevelopment, or a combination of these in the Ensley Community is necessary in the interest of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare of the residents of Escambia County”.
The designation has been recommended to the commission by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), a division of Community and Environment Department.
The area (depicted in the map above, click to enlarge) is bordered generally by Nine Mile Road to the north, railroad tracks just west of Highway 29 to the west, Jernigan Road ad Cody Lane to the east, and I-19 and a portion of Olive Road to the south.
Six other community redevelopment areas in Escambia County exist in the Cantonment, Barrancas, Brownsville,, Englewood, Palafox, and Warrington communities. A variety of incentives are offered by the Community Redevelopment Agency, include commercial and residential grant programs, the Florida Enterprise Zone Tax Incentive Program and Brownfield Redevelopment Program.
The Escambia County Commission will vote on the designation of the Ensley Redevelopment Agency at their December 11 meeting.
Comments
14 Responses to “Escambia Considers Creation Of Blighted Ensley Redevelopment Area”
Zakkiyyah Osuigwe I sure hope you are right! I will pray that one day the Ensley Community will be a place of pride and hope for residents! Time will tell!
There is also a shortage of affordable housing for low and moderate income housing in Scenic Hills and East Hill too.
When do they get this same help from the county also?
I have read all of the comments and I can see that the people don’t understand what “Community Redevelopment” is or what the Community Redevelopment Agency does. First of all, Don’t panic! Its not about moving “criminals, section 8, drug dealer or whatever else you fear” into your neighborhood. Designation as a CRA is determined by what’s already there and the people that reap the benefits of a CRA designation is the HOME OWNERS and BUSINESS OWNERS. Owners can receive assistance with roof replacements, new windows & shutter installation, sewer connection, new A/C installation, etc.. those big ticket items, also street lights, sidewalks, etc.., to improve the overall quality of life for the neighborhood. Besides, the funds used to help the neighborhood is your very own tax dollars. Why not use it to help yourselves, its your money. Just my 2cents
Improvements sounds like a good idea to me.
Focus on the illegal element, then talk about revitalization. We do not have sewage, sidewalks or a safe place for a walking trail or even a community center. And you want to bring more people in, making it even more congested than it is. As stated above, put some of the efforts on the east side of 9th ave. We don’t have room out here.
There is plenty of low income housing. Just take the back roads through that area. But if the government plants the “poor” in this area, then they can be assured that the “poor” does not move into their areas. Every time the government sticks their noses in, things get majorly screwed up and now they are doing it again. Let people do what people do and quit screwing with the middle income people. We deserve a nice area that is not going to be nice when you “force” transplant criminals into this area. Add to that, more traffic and traffic is horrific around this area. I have an idea, plant these people over on the other side of 9th ave. We have our share of delinquents, drug dealers and thieves.
Is this some sort of bad dream? Has anyone learned that section 8 is the most horrible idea ever?
Why does the county ignore this fact?
Well they already have 6 “redevelopment” areas and I have yet to see any improvement. I don’t see how moving the worse elements of the county into Ensley will be any improvement for the residents there.
Please no…crime is already on the rise in this area. Even Cantoment has gotten worse. My home is smack dab in the middle of all of this, and I’ve already seen a decline in the neighborhood since a lot of the homeowners are moving away and renters are moving in…they don’t take care of the homes, and the landlords could care less. Low income housing will just bring our home values down and turn the area into something worse than it already is.
The entire county will be a blighted area by the time the lawsuits from the jail explosion are settled and a new jail is built.
Ensley Resident:
Apparently, when someone recommends more street lights, it means bringing in low income housing and lowering the property value of the residents already living in Ensley.
The long time residents have seen the decline of the area, and it’s generally due to the number of renters – homeowners usually take better care of their property, because they don’t have a landlord to call for repairs. The Sheriffs Department is constantly in and around the area and this would only get worse with the introduction of low income housing. I don’t know the statistical numbers, but crime is usually higher in the area of low income housing developments (Truman Arms had to have a concrete wall with razor wire on top of it – very penitentiary style). Is that truly the element that we need in Ensley? There are already sections where if you don’t live there, you don’t go there…unless you’re going in to get dope. Clean up the existing criminal elements before introducing a new strain. Otherwise, what was meant to help the population may end up being its downfall. I understand that not all low income families bring the criminal element with them and that crime occurs across all socioeconomic spectrums, but you can look around Ensley and the greater Pensacola area and see the negative impact low income housing has had.
Maybe the entire county should be a CRA District.
Then the tax payers could see some extras also.
More than likely it will mean more section 8 housing,crime,drug dealers,welfare recipients and all the trimmings!…..ask again in 5 years but you’ll see the answer sooner….
So, what does all of this mean for us residents here in Ensley? I have heard more street lights, but nothing more. Does anyone know?