Governor Ron DeSantis has awarded $187 million to northwest Florida communities impacted by Hurricane Sally in September 2020. He made the announcement Thursday.
The money comes from the Florida Department of Commerce’s Rebuild Florida program, which provides funding for local governments to rebuild homes and harden infrastructure to prevent or mitigate losses from future disasters.
“My administration has prioritized supporting businesses and communities impacted by hurricanes while they get back on their feet,” said Governor Ron DeSantis in a press release from the state. “Today, I am happy to announce $187 million in awards to aid in recovery efforts following Hurricane Sally — an important step in helping Northwest Florida recover.”
The majority of the state grant funding will go to Escambia County, which has been awarded over $70 million. That includes nearly $53 million to make regional storm water drainage improvements in low and moderate income neighborhoods and to build a new state-of-the-art, energy-efficient, and resilient Escambia County Area Transit Center.
Escambia is also slated to receive $5 million to improve streetscapes and add solar-powered lighting throughout low-to moderate-come areas by installing 80 new ECAT bus shelters and updating 32 existing ones.
RELATED: One year later, lessons learned from Hurricane Sally
The county will receive $9 million from the Rebuild Florida Housing Repair and Replacement Program (HRRP) to rebuild, replace or repair homes that were damaged by Hurricane Sally.
The City of Pensacola has been awarded over $55 million in funding for several significant infrastructure and neighborhood revitalization projects. Most of the city’s grant awards will be used in part to facilitate a storm water infrastructure project at Hollice T. Williams Park, restore hurricane-damaged infrastructure at the Port of Pensacola, and to demolish and rebuild the Fricker Resource Center.
"This funding is monumental for the City of Pensacola, allowing us to complete projects that will transform our community and impact Pensacola for generations to come," said Mayor D.C. Reeves. "I appreciate Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Commerce, Sen. Doug Broxson and state leadership for recognizing the importance of these projects and the benefits they will bring to citizens of Pensacola and our entire region."
Additionally, the City of Pensacola has been awarded $10 million to acquire and prepare for reuse the Baptist Hospital Campus located at E and West Moreno Street, after hospital operations move to a new location on Brent Lane.
RELATED: Perdido, Innerarity residents recall Sally's destruction
Nearly $5.8 million has been awarded to the City of Pensacola for housing repair and replacement through HRRP.
Elsewhere across the region, the Town of Century is slated to receive $12.8 million for various infrastructure projects and to demolish the old Century High School Gym building and build a new shelter that can also be used as a multi-purpose facility.
The Town of Jay will receive $5.4 million to build a Community Disaster Response Facility and for infrastructure to support disaster response.
“Governor Ron DeSantis continues to make good on his promise to support Northwest Florida communities with vital resources to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Sally,” said Senator Doug Broxson. “Today’s awards will go a very long way to get people back in their homes and build up vital infrastructure to strengthen Northwest Florida’s resiliency in the face of future storms.”
More details about the Hurricane Sally grant awards are available at www.flgov.com.
