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

A plan to build housing as a way to attract faculty and staff to the university was part of FGCU's Board of Trustees meeting this week. The project is just in the informational stages but could lead to a number of units being built to the south of Gulf Coast Town Center, about two miles from the FGCU campus.

A persistently contentious debate about regulating vacation rentals has escalated into a clash between two powerful industry groups after the Florida Legislature passed a measure that would significantly restrict how local governments can oversee the properties.The bill, finalized in the waning days of the 2024 legislative session, has drawn intense opposition from vacation-rental management companies, coastal community leaders and Florida Realtors, an influential real-estate industry group that is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto the measure.

Local real estate agents are scrambling to figure out the effect on them of the National Association of Realtors’ anti-trust settlement last week to pay $418 million in damages and eliminate some rules dealing with commissions.A judge still has to approve the settlement. The new rules will take effect in July, if approved.

President Biden spoke today in Nevada to address how he plans to bring down housing costs in Florida and across the country.