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WHAT:
Millie Atwell never expected to be homeless. But when she suffered cardiac arrest at age 36, she found herself facing a long road to recovery and while she was unable to work, bills and rent were piling up, forcing her and her daughter to move from place to place. While they were living in their car, a caseworker connected them with the property manager at Fairlawn Village, who helped her apply for housing. Recently, Atwell and her daughter were among some of the first residents to move into the new affordable housing community on Mercy Drive. Today, Atwell is earning her GED and taking advantage of the free financial literacy classes offered on-site to residents. Sitting in the community clubhouse at her new home, Atwell smiled as she shared, “When there’s good people behind you, there’s no other way you can go but up.”
On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and District 5 City Commissioner Regina I. Hill will join City Commissioners, Blue Sky Communities and Community Assisted and Supported Living to celebrate the completion of Fairlawn Village, a 116-unit affordable housing apartment community, with a ribbon cutting ceremony. All units at Fairlawn Village are reserved for residents with incomes at or less than 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Additionally, 20 units are designated as permanent supportive housing, with casework services provided for people experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic violence, people with a disability or youth aging out of foster care.
As affordable housing continues to be one of the most complex challenges facing cities today, the City of Orlando remains committed to ensuring that every person, regardless of economic status, has access to quality housing that is safe and affordable and continues to work to develop short and long-term strategies to expand the city's housing inventory for residents at all income levels.
BACKGROUND:
To help further access for residents to affordable housing, eight years ago the city invested nearly seven million dollars to purchase seven vacant, foreclosed, uninhabitable properties in the greater Washington Shores and Mercy Drive areas, with a goal to transform these sites into safe, attractive and affordable housing for residents. With the grand opening of Fairlawn Village, the city celebrates the last of the parcels to be redeveloped from the 2015 purchase. The other new developments include:
- Village on Mercy, a 166-unit affordable apartment community developed by Ability Housing
- Pendana at West Lakes, a 200-unit, mixed-income multifamily community
- Pendana at West Lakes Senior Residences, a 120-unit affordable apartment homes designated for seniors.
- Both Pendana communities were developed by LIFT Orlando.
Following that initial property purchase in 2015, the city’s original investment in the purchase of these properties has yielded more than $115 million in private investment or a return of nearly $16 for each dollar invested by the city.
WHEN:
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
11 a.m.
WHERE:
Fairlawn Village
1491 Mercy Drive
WHO:
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer
District 5 City Commissioner Regina I. Hill
City Commissioners
Shawn Wilson, Blue Sky Communities President
Scott Eller, Community Assisted and Supported Living CEO
Millie Atwell, Fairlawn Village Resident
MEDIA PARKING:
Parking will be reserved in the parking lot of the Fairlawn Village community.
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