The secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia L. Fudge, visited Tallahassee on Saturday. She met with local officials at the Orange Avenue Redevelopment project, where more than $3 million in federal funds is helping to build 290 units of affordable housing.
The redevelopment project will replace what had been the Orange Avenue apartment complex. The Tallahassee Housing Authority says previous residents will have first right of refusal for the new units…and one of those residents was on hand.
“Hello, everyone, my name is Tamika Ivory. I’m an ongoing resident of this community," she said. "I’m really honored to be a part of this journey, and I look forward to moving back to this community to see what the future holds.”
The development is in Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor’s South City district. He told Fudge her presence encouraged the efforts of local governments to develop affordable housing.
“You’ve got to have able, visionary administrators who can work with Washington, because you’ve got to have the strength to go around the state capital in Tallahassee if poor people are going to get some money for affordable housing," said Proctor. "That’s just what time it is.”
And Fudge said the federal government is working to help bring housing and end homelessness.
“We on any given night in this nation have almost 500,000 people who sleep on our streets," she said. "It is a travesty to allow people, especially our veterans and others, to sleep on the street in the wealthiest and greatest nation in the world. So today, I want you to know that our team is working for you.”
The Orange Avenue Redevelopment will bring in residents next year in two phases, in the spring and in the fall.
