FORT MYERS, Fla. — A major redevelopment project in Fort Myers is moving forward as Southward Village has been awarded nearly $19 million for its second phase of construction.
The City of Fort Myers Housing Authority received approval for $18.875 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to transform the public housing community that was once home to nearly 200 residents.
Watch Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price's report:
Phase 2 will create a new 151-unit housing development at 2990 Edison Avenue, with 102 units maintaining affordable rental rates for one, two, three, and four-bedroom apartments. The estimated total cost for this phase is $75.6 million, with each unit costing approximately $500,695 to develop.
Marcia Davis, executive director of the City of Fort Myers Housing Authority, said they anticipate breaking ground in October 2025 with completion expected by December 2027.
"We're right now in the closing process with all the bond, the debt and the equity, and so the CDBG-DR funds are the last funds," Davis said.
The transformed Southward Village site will ultimately include 375 new mixed-income apartments, with 159 units reserved specifically for former Southward Village residents. An additional 40 homes will be available at a separate 90-unit development on Cleveland Avenue.
Donnie, who has lived across from Southward Village on Edison Avenue his entire life, has mixed feelings about the changes coming to his neighborhood.
"We got a strong community over here. We got, I got the best neighbors in the world, but we got a good community," Donnie said.
He believes the redevelopment could benefit homeowners in the surrounding area by increasing property values.
"All of our property values should go up if you own. And these are homeowners here, so we should benefit from this," Donnie said.
The project will include amenities such as a clubhouse, fitness room, business center, pocket parks, playgrounds, and on-site management offices.
However, Donnie expressed concern that some former residents might not be able to return to the new development.
"I know my auntie probably won't be invited back there, because she ain't got no income based, but we'll see how it works out," he said.
According to project documents, the Greater Dunbar Initiative aims to address the needs of residents in the 199-unit Southward Village public housing community with improved opportunities through this mixed-income approach.
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