AP Housing Authority Receives Federal Stimulus Dollars

Paradise just got better, said Lino Rosario Gonzalez.

Delaney Heights, an elderly and disabled community in Avon Park where Gonzalez has lived for more than three years, will receive long-needed improvements as the recipient of $294,648 in federal stimulus money. The Delaney Heights housing project is part of the Avon Park Housing Authority.

Gonzalez said the money that the housing authority recently received will only make Delaney Heights, which he deemed "paradise," better.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development for rehabilitation of the public housing properties owned and operated by Avon Park Housing Authority. Those properties include Delaney Heights, Lakeside Park and Ridgedale Apartments.

The Delaney Heights Rehab Project will include upgrading and replacing cabinets, appliances, countertops and plumbing in the kitchens and bathrooms; windows and screens, and screen doors; installing smoke and CO detectors; painting exterior walls; and sidewalk replacement, said Mark Richardson, clerk of works and project leader.

"These have been long-standing needs that need to be addressed," said Executive Director Larry P. Shoeman.

"Over the years they have been deferred because of lack of funding. These properties were built in the mid-1960s."

The stimulus funding will add to the formula funding or capital improvement dollars the agency already receives from HUD.

Last year, the AP housing authority received $232,776 in formula funding. The previous year the agency received $193,000 in formula funding. Shoeman explained that formula funding is driven by appropriations from Congress, which is why it can fluctuate.

"The stimulus dollars are meant to infuse money into the community," Shoeman said.

"We'll be buying products from the local community and generating jobs (locally)," he said.

For the rehabilitation work, Shoeman said the housing authority is creating a resident training program for people living in the public housing projects. The training they receive will qualify them as novice carpenters and painters, Shoeman said. Qualified residents will help with the rehabilitation project.

There are over 150 units or apartments within the three housing projects, Richardson said.

Area median income dictates eligibility for housing, Shoeman said. For example, the income for a family of four cannot exceed $23,000 to qualify for housing. The rent paid is 30 percent of the adjusted income, Shoeman said.

Not only are all three projects full, there is also a waiting list, Richardson said.

"The need is great," he said.

Residents living in the apartments will need to be moved for the renovations but only for several days, Richardson said.