© 2024 WFSU Public Media
WFSU News · Tallahassee · Panama City · Thomasville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tallahassee Housing Authority secures additional funding for Orange Ave. Apartments redevelopment

Orange Ave Apartments Re-Development construction site at 2710 Country Club Drive, Tallahassee, FL
Adrian Andrews
Orange Ave Apartments Re-Development construction site at 2710 Country Club Drive, Tallahassee, FL

The Tallahassee Housing Authority takes another step toward completing a revamp of the Southside Tallahassee’s Orange Avenue Apartments. The housing complex will soon become a property for low-to-middle-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities.

THA’s executive director Brenda Williams, announced in a release last Monday, that her agency's newest funding brings the total for the project to nearly $83 million.

“This mixed-income housing development is being carried out in phases and represents a substantial investment in the city’s southside,” said Williams. “I am confident that it will have a profound and positive impact on the lives of many of our residents and I look forward to celebrating its completion.”

Reconstruction efforts finally got underway last October .
Phase 1 construction involves the 130-unit structure that is now underway at the site. Phase 2 will be complex for low-income seniors. Both phases will consist of nearly 300 units and is expected to be completed for occupants in the Spring of 2024.

The South City Foundation will help ensure the project meets the community needs. The foundation’s executive director Courtney Adkins, says the apartments will impact southside residents for the better.

“In this kind of project, it is not just putting a roof over someone’s head,” said Adkins. “It’s really creating a foundation for the future children and families living in south city. —"For the Tallahassee Housing Authority to have been able to acquire funding for both phase one and two of this redevelopment site, is pretty fantastic and amazing.”

Additionally, Atkin’s group received $2 million from the federal government to create an early learning center at the Wesson school across the street of the complex.

Adrian Andrews is a multimedia journalist with WFSU Public Media. He is a Gadsden County native and a first-generation college graduate from Florida A&M University. Adrian is also a military veteran, ending his career as a Florida Army National Guard Non-Comissioned Officer.

Adrian has experience in print writing, digital content creation, documentary, and film production. He has spent the last four years on the staff of several award-winning publications such as The Famuan, Gadsden County News Corp, and Cumulus Media before joining the WFSU news team.