Lee County is granting $89 million for affordable housing. The money comes from the federal government, part of the $1.1 billion coming to Lee to help recovery from Hurricane Ian.

FEMA has announced an extension in its housing program from Hurricane Ian.

FGCU’s Softball team will help build three homes this weekend in Lehigh Acres in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties. The team works on Habitat projects multiple times a year.Head Coach David Deiros has maintained a relationship with the organization for 15 years. Miguel Fernandez, a late Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry County board member and father of a FGCU Softball alumni encouraged the team to help back in 2009.

The housing gap between communities in Collier County is striking. In Immokalee, almost 40% of homes are owner-occupied, while in nearby Naples, that number is over 80%. This disparity is driving up rental costs in Immokalee, forcing many families into overcrowded living conditions. A local nonprofit has stepped up to build an affordable housing complex, hoping to offer relief to those who need it most.

A farmworker housing bill, unanimously passed by the Florida House and Senate, was vetoed by Governor DeSantis Friday. He cited "illegal foreign workers" in his veto letter.

The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted to commit to a $500,000 dollar loan to support an application for a North Fort Myers affordable housing project Tuesday.Autumn Palm Lee, the company selected by the county for the project, is applying for funding through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. The loan, which is from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, will only be used if this application is accepted.

A 60-day demo and rebuild project by Lee Builders Care and Stevens Construction was in response to issues the Fort Myers family of Myrtle Dillard family faced; Myrtle Dillard was caring for her daughter and twin granddaughters, she also had health concerns and her husband, Joseph, had recently died.On the home issue, the forest green old house not only required extensive repairs, but also lacked necessary accessibility features, posing serious safety risks for Dillard, who relies on wheelchair access.On Tuesday, they not only got a new home, but a healthy does of hope to go with it.

Nearly 64 years after construction began on what was then described as "Negro housing," the low-income dwellings at Southward Village in Fort Myers' Dunbar neighborhood were demolished this week.On Wednesday morning, the workers began taking down the squat, light tropical-colored buildings. Information from the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers described the project as "a major step of progression for the Greater Dunbar Initiative."

The White Coral homeownership project in Fort Myers will provide 26 single family homes.

NAREB, Home ownership, Black wealth, Fort Myers, Southwest Florida, Fair Housing Act