The Riviera Beach Housing Authority |
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We Remain Busy.
Heron Estates Family is 28 Percent Complete.
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Heron Estates Family (HEF) is the second phase of the first new affordable housing built in Riviera Beach in more than 40 years. As of today, the project is nearly 30 percent complete and, when done, will provide 79 units of affordable, workforce-style housing to the community. |
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Brown Electrical Solutions is Part of the Team. And Section 3. |
Vincent Brown is from Riviera Beach, his company is based in the City and Brown Electrical Solutions now has the electrical contract for Heron Estates Family. It’s not his first government contract—he’s also working right now in Martin County, Broward County schools and his hometown's City Hall—but he's one of the first Section 3 contractors on the project. Section 3 is a federal program that seeks to foster local economic growth through the hiring of locals. “It’s a great opportunity,” said Mr. Brown, of what he estimates will be a $700,000 project for him, “especially in my hometown.” He has also connected with Tower Electric of Riviera Beach, another Section 3 contractor, to provide project support. Brown Electrical got started on the project in December and has passed all of its inspections, he said. There’s no end date scheduled because of the pandemic’s effect on raw materials for the entire project; Mr. Brown said no one’s even working weekends right now. Still, he likes working with the project’s general contractor Newport Construction, calling it a “phenomenal contractor with good supervisors on the job.” To learn more about Mr. Brown and his company, click here. Or, just visit Heron Estates Family. During the week.
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The U.S. Senate approved earlier this month the nomination of Marcia Louise Fudge as the new secretary of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Secretary Fudge is an American attorney and elected official who served as U.S. Representative for Ohio's 11th Congressional district from 2008 to 2021. She will be the 18th HUD Secretary and the first woman of color in the seat since 1977, when Patricia Roberts Harris was appointed by then-President Jimmy Carter. Secretary Fudge, 68, had said during her January confirmation hearing that her priorities would include ending discriminatory housing practices and boosting black homeownership. Learn more about her, and HUD, here.
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For Heron Estates Senior Residents
News, Events & Useful Information from the City of Riviera Beach
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Still Need a Vaccine Shot?
While we know most Seniors have received the vaccine but, for those who haven't, Palm Beach County (PBC) has created a list of vaccine sites. They can be accessed by a variety of people--including K-12 school employees and law enforcement and fire officials. Here's the list of local vaccine sites; just click on the location to get there.
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Free Food Friday
Ever since the start of the pandemic, the City has partnered with Feeding South Florida to ensure residents who need food, get food. And, it continues: from 9 to 11 a.m. on the second and fourth Fridays of each month, drive over to Wells Recreation Center across from City Hall. There, free fruits, vegetables and, sometimes, meats will be placed in car trunks. The drive-through distribution is open to all Palm Beach County residents. Including those in Riviera Beach. For more information, call 561-840-0135 or send an email here.
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Free Food Also at the Port of Palm Beach--at a New Location |
Hospitality Helping Hands' weekly food distribution held at the Port of Palm Beach (PPB) from 3 to 5:30 p.m. every Saturday is still happening, it's just relocating to a different area of the Port.
The weekly event will now be held outside the Port’s cruise terminal located at One East 11th Street. Drivers will be asked to enter the Port from 11th Street, just north of the Skypass Bridge, and will be directed by volunteers into a parking lot before being escorted to the food distribution area. Questions? Contact the PPB's Public Information Officer Yaremi Farinas at 561-383-4138 or send an email here.
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Nice: Free Hot-Plate Meals from FAMU
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Thanks to the PBC chapter of the Florida A & M University (FAMU) National Alumni Association, free hot meals were provided to 25 residents of Heron Estates Senior on Friday, February 26. Those meals--baked chicken, rice & peas, green vegetables--were given to "whoever came in," said J. Jerome Taylor, a FAMU graduate, Heron Estates resident and former Chairman of the RBHA Board. The effort was part of the chapter's Food on the Table Initiative, said Chapter President Monica McCoy, which they launched in the face of the pandemic. They partnered with Boynton Beach-based Blues & BBQ restaurant and provided food to Seniors in several PBC communities, including Lake Worth Beach, Delray Beach, the Glades area--and Riviera Beach. "We're known for what we do for students but how is the pandemic affecting their parents and their grandparents?" Ms. McCoy said. "We wanted to see what we could do to help them." Mr. Taylor said he set the meals up in the lobby. "We gave out the food, people said it tasted good," he said, "so the event was good."
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The RBHA was founded in 1968 and is a special district of the City of Riviera Beach. It is also an agency of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as are six other housing authorities in Palm Beach County. The five-member Board of Commissioners meets on the second Tuesday of each month at the Authority offices. The meetings are open to the public and nearly all information is available to the public by request. Click here for more Board information, including meeting dates, agendas and minutes.
Administration
John W. Hurt
Executive Director
Matthew C. Russell
Board Attorney
Contact Us:
2001 Broadway, suite 101
Riviera Beach, FL 33404
561-845-7450 office
800-431-8738 fax
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Chairman's Corner
As I reflect during this month of March 2021, I think there's lots for us, at the RBHA, to be thankful for, including:
- We thank our co-development partner, Housing Trust Group of Florida, for ensuring that our Section 3 contractors, subcontractors and skilled tradespeople are getting some of the work on Heron Estates Family. That brings much-needed support to our community.
- We’re working to partner with the Health Council of Southeast Florida to continue to ensure everyone who needs or wants a vaccine, gets it. We thank Palm Beach County and the City of Riviera Beach for their efforts at Heron Estates Senior that ensured our seniors received vaccine shots.
- We also congratulate Riviera Beach City Councilwomen KaShamba Miller Anderson and Julia Botel, who won re-election earlier this month, and we look forward to continue working with the City on creating more affordable housing.
- I congratulate Willie Spence, Jr., the local young man who recently appeared on American Idol. I also offer him our condolences for the loss of his grandfather, longtime Pastor Willie R. Singleton, who was also my wife’s uncle.
In conclusion, I would like to thank my colleagues on the Board for their service and dedication as we will continue the work toward creating critically important public-private partnerships to keep our housing initiatives moving.
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Read Our Previous Newsletters Here:
*November and December 2020? Blame the pandemic.
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Chairman Jeffery B. Jackson
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Chairwoman Jessica Thurmond
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Commissioner Horace L. Towns
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Commissioner Glen L. Spiritis
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Commissioner Alexis Lockhart
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