Rebuild Florida
is a program of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) created to support communities following disasters by addressing long-term recovery needs for housing, infrastructure and economic development.
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DEO's Rebuild Florida program has been entrusted with a mission to
help communities rebuild following disasters and to develop more disaster-resilient communities. With Florida being as disaster prone as it is, we will do whatever it takes to accomplish this mission. It's been a busy few months for Rebuild Florida as we work towards this goal and we have passed several important milestones, including:
- Announced upcoming application cycle for Workforce Recovery Training Program to train workers in Irma-impacted communities in construction trades necessary for disaster recovery.
- While we are awaiting federally required guidance to receive announced Hurricane Michael funding, we continue to gather feedback on unmet Hurricane Michael recovery needs and priorities of impacted communities via an online survey.
These are just a few of the recent developments and milestones from the Rebuild Florida team. There are many exciting things in the pipeline, and I hope you enjoy reading about what is happening as we push forward with our mission to help Florida communities rebuild from recent disasters and become more resilient to future disasters.
Sincerely,
Executive Director Ken Lawson
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Rebuild Florida's
First-of-its-Kind Disaster Mitigation Funding
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Governor Ron DeSantis recently announced the launch of the state of Florida’s coordinated effort to access more than $633 million in first-of-its-kind federal funding for disaster mitigation projects. These funds are available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) newly created Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program.
“Since day one in office, Governor DeSantis has made it very clear that rebuilding from and making Florida more resilient to disasters is our number one priority,” said Ken Lawson, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “We’ll continue working with our local, state and federal partners to develop and finalize our State Action Plan for these critical dollars. The sooner our plan is approved, the sooner we can get these much-needed funds into the communities impacted by these storms.”
DEO, alongside other state agencies and local communities, will develop and submit the State Action Plan to HUD for review by February 3, 2020. Upon approval of the plan, DEO will work with statewide partners to distribute the federal funds to help better protect Florida’s communities from future disasters
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Rebuild Florida
Announces Regional Public Workshops for Mitigation Funds
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DEO is hosting a series of public workshops across the state
to provide more information on the newly created mitigation program and to solicit feedback and input for the use of the mitigation funds
.
The full schedule for the seven regional public workshops is shown below and more information is available on the program page
here.
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DUVAL COUNTY
Date:
Tuesday, October 29
Time:
5:00 p.m.
Location:
University of North Florida
Adam W. Herbert University Center
Board of Trustees Room
12000 Alumni Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32224
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BREVARD COUNTY
Date:
Wednesday, October 30
Time:
2:00 p.m.
Location:
Brevard County Government Center
County Commission Chambers
2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Bldg. C, First Floor
Viera, FL 32940
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PINELLAS COUNTY
Date:
Thursday, October 31
Time:
9:30 a.m.
Location:
Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
4000 Gateway Centre Blvd., STE 100
Pinellas Park, FL 33782
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LEE COUNTY
Date:
Monday, November 4
Time:
3:00 p.m.
Location:
North Fort Myers Public Library, Meeting Room AB
2001 N. Tamiami Trail
North Fort Myers, FL 33903
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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
Date:
Tuesday, November 5
Time:
2:00 p.m.
Location:
Town of Cutler Bay
Council Chambers
10720 Caribbean Boulevard Suite 115
Cutler Bay, Florida, 33189
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PALM BEACH COUNTY
Date:
Wednesday, November 6
Time:
1:00 p.m.
Location:
South Florida Water Management District
3301 Gun Club Road, B-1
West Palm Beach, FL 33406
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MONROE COUNTY
Date: Thursday, November 7
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: City of Marathon
Council Chambers
9805 Overseas Highway
Marathon, Florida 33050
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Rebuild Florida
Workforce Recovery Training Program
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Rebuild Florida’s $20 million Workforce Recovery Training Program will provide grant funding to launch or expand training programs for construction trades in Hurricane Irma-impacted communities.
Educational institutions and technical centers located in the communities identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) by Hurricane Irma will be able to apply.
Local Workforce Development Boards whose service area includes a portion of the HUD-identified MID areas may also apply.
The application cycle opened on October 28, 2019, and run through January 10, 2020.
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Deadline Approaching: Infrastructure Repair Program
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The
Rebuild Florida Infrastructure Repair Program
is making
$85 million available to local governments
in
communities impacted by Hurricane Irma
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Gr
ant funding can be used by local governments to restore and improve infrastructure in areas damaged by Hurricane Irma or as match funding for other federal programs to carry out eligible, federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) infrastructure activity. The deadline for local governments to apply, extended due to Hurricane Dorian, is
Oct. 31, 2019.
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Rebuild Florida
Voluntary Home Buyout Program Completes Application Cycle
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The
$75 million Rebuild Florida Voluntary Home buyout Program recently completed the first application cycle for local governments in
communities impacted by Hurricane Irma
. This funding can be used by local governments to purchase homes damaged by Hurricane Irma from willing homeowners in high risk flood areas or to match funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
In total, more than a dozen local govern
ments applied for nearly $60 million. Rebuild Florida will now review the applications submitted and prioritize projects for funding. After all the applications and projects are scored, DEO will announce which projects are being awarded.
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Hurricane Michael Long-Term Recovery Survey
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On May 8, 2019, the President announced $448 million in CDBG-DR funding for Florida to help Hurricane Michael-impacted communities with
long-term recovery needs for housing, infrastructure and economic development.
While the federal guidance necessary to release these funds to the state has not yet been published, Rebuild Florida is moving forward with every step possible to be able to hit the ground running once the guidance is made available.
Rebuild Florida's efforts to be ready when federal guidance is published include the development of a federally required unmet needs assessment. Input from local stakeholders will play a vital role in this unmet needs assessment. We've created an online survey to generate feedback on unmet recovery needs and long-term recovery priorities of impacted communities and invites those in affected areas to participate.
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Still Open: Housing Repair and Replacement Program Registration
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After receiving feedback from impacted communities, DEO continues to accept Hurricane Irma Rebuild Florida Housing Repair and Replacement Program registrations. Once a homeowner submits a registration, they will be invited to apply in phases with priority given to low-income individuals who are most vulnerable, including the elderly, those with disabilities and families with children under 18. To date, more than 15,000 Floridians have registered for assistance to rebuild, repair or replace hurricane Irma Damaged Homes.
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Disaster Recovery Resources
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Ways to Register for the Hurricane Irma Rebuild Florida Housing Program
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- Over the phone at 844.833.1010
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