Escambia Awarded $7 Million In Disaster Grants, Including $600K for Century

June 11, 2010

cdbg.jpgEscambia County has received a $7 million disaster recovery grant to be used on projects in Century and in the Pensacola area.

The $7,067,397 community development block grant from the Florida Department of Community Affairs will fund five projects, two of them in Century related to flooding in 2008.

Projects funded by the grant will include:

  1. Century flooding and drainage improvements on Jefferson Avenue, $193,300.  The funding will construct Jefferson Avenue ditch outfall improvements to rework a ditch that is responsible for draining the central portion of Century. The town does not currently have a dedicated easement for the ditch, so the town’s ability to maintain it has been hampered. As a result, the ditch has grown up with heavy vegetation and debris from storms, and as a result it is difficult for the town to maintain it with hand labor and small equipment. The goal of the project will be to secure easements for the adjacent property owners and to clear and reshape the ditch to improve it so that it can be better maintained in the future.
  2. Century flooding and drainage improvements on Pond Street, $406,700.  The funding will provide improvements to an existing drainage ditch in the Pond Street area, including correction of the easement issues as exist around the Jefferson Avenue ditch.
  3. Affordable rental housing preservation and development, $1.05 million to  partially fund the acquisition of the Maison Deville Apartments, which were heavily damaged by Hurricane Ivan and further impacted by Hurricane Gustav. The 144-unit complex will replaced by units of mixed income rental housing.
  4. Development of Homeless Service Facility, $1.8 million. The money will be used for a new homeless service center that will house the Waterfront Rescue Mission and provide homeless services. The existing Waterfront Rescue Mission homeless facility is currently located in a flood-prone area.
  5. Lakewood (Warrington) area sewer construction will receive $3.3 million to eliminate septic tanks that impact Bayou Chico during flooding.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Grants totaling $81 million were available statewide under funding approved by Congress for areas declared disaster areas due to 2008 storms. Escambia County was one of six counties in Florida declared disaster areas due to the impact of Hurricane Gustav.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News