MISSION STATEMENT

The Neighborhood Enterprise Division seeks to increase the supply of decent affordable housing through a variety of rental and homeownership programs for the community’s low and moderate income residents as well as encourage neighborhood and housing sustainability through the preservation and rehabilitation of existing housing stock.

FY 2017-2018 Accomplishments

• 116 first-time home buyers purchased homes through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, First Time Home Buyer Program, and nine home buyers purchased homes through the HOME Program in Escambia County. All buyers participated in pre-purchase home buyer counseling and post-purchase foreclosure prevention education.
• Managed various repair programs for low-income homeowners, completing eight Community Development Block Grant rehabilitations, which included two complete lead-based paint abatements. Twelve SHIP and Affordable Housing Repair projects were completed in the unincorporated areas of the county, including five referrals from Environmental Enforcement.
• Utilizing SHIP funds, eight homes destroyed by the February 2016 tornado in Century were replaced through partnerships with Pensacola Habitat for Humanity and the Town of Century. SHIP funds were leveraged with $269,906 in private and public funds.
• The division administered SHIP and HOME Investments Partnership Program housing rehabilitation contracts for the city of Pensacola, the town of Century and Community Action Program Committee, completing 17 projects throughout the county.
• Seven low-income homeowners were screened for Environmental Health’s septic to sewer program.
• Worked with Facilities and Parks & Recreation to make ADA improvements to county facilities and parks under the CDBG program. Improvements were made to the Billy G. Tennant Clinic, Beulah Community Center, John R. Jones Jr. Athletic Complex, Myrtle Grove Athletic Park and Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park totaling $320,839.08.
• Worked with Environmental Enforcement to assist six low-income property owners to abate code violations at their properties through demolition/clearance of their properties totaling $64,585. 
• Jointly with CRA, funded two sign grants and one Neighborhood Mini Grant project in Community Redevelopment Areas totaling $4,226 and leveraging $18,243.19 in private funding, located in the Brownsville, Ensley, and Warrington areas.
• Administered six public service contracts with Council on Aging of West Florida, Escambia-Pensacola Human Relations Commission, Legal Services of North Florida, Community Enterprise Investments Inc., Opening Doors Northwest Florida, and Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen, totaling $176,235 in CDBG funds, $17,425 in SHIP funds, and $101,035 in Emergency Solutions Grant funding.