TAMPA, Fla. — While many agree on the need for more affordable housing, how to achieve that can vary.
The University Area Community Development Corporation’s ‘Rehab to Restore Hope’ initiative aims to repair existing housing stock and bring more affordable housing online.
Seventy-seven-year-old veteran Glenn Johnson is the first resident of a newly renovated duplex owned by the agency.
“It’s great, and I really appreciate it,” said Johnson.
He moved back to the Tampa Bay area to be closer to extended family.
“These are my four sisters. This is the only one surviving,” he said while sharing a photo.
Boxes scattered around the apartment hold a few of his possessions with a lifetime of memories, from enlisting at 19 years old to lessons he learned from his mother.
“And it follows me today,” he said. “Treat people the way you want to be treated and if you fall down, get up.”
Johnson says it’s a lift he truly needed.
“The place I was in, it was OK. I had a few issues,” he said. Finding attainable housing wasn’t easy.
The University Area CDC CEO, Dr. Sarah Combs, says 95% of this community is made up by renters.
“Before this, we were in a housing crisis, and now, after the hurricanes, it has been exaggerated,” said Combs.
Combs says developers are facing higher building costs, rising land prices, and land-use restrictions that make replacing low-cost units with new affordable housing difficult. She says ‘Rehab to Restore Hope’ can preserve community character, prevent displacement, and stretch limited housing dollars further.
“We are really leaning into rehab, and why that is important is that it addresses the existing housing stock that is here and looks for properties that need a bit of love and care,” she said. “We are looking for those properties that really need a bit of love and TLC. We could make a bigger difference if we renovate a duplex that is aging and isn’t necessarily ready for someone to call home.”
Combs says that it’s a way to help residents afford to stay in their neighborhood, allowing them to take advantage of improvements such as better-performing schools, improved job access, health care, and transit.
The University Area Community Development Corporation is actively seeking new partners — contractors, developers, organisations, and community leaders — to join in rehabilitating properties and revitalizing the neighborhood.
