The Riviera Beach Housing Authority
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Construction is set to start in late summer on our upcoming Heron Estates Phase 2 project, which is 79 units of townhouse-style workforce housing. We're getting ready and, if you're a local contractor or skilled worker, you should too. See why below.
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One of the people who received an acknowledgement at the Grand Opening Ceremony of Heron Estates Senior last month was Margaret Shepherd. Not because she’s a resident of the new senior tower but, in part, because she was a resident of the
former
senior tower. That would be the 54-unit building that sat inside the former Ivey Green Village public housing complex, which was completely demolished by 2008 due to hurricane damage. Ms. Shepherd has been with the RBHA ever since. She currently lives in one of the RBHA’s four single-family homes and, when the Authority needed to tell its story back in 2015, Mrs. Shepherd was in the video (watch it
here
)
. She ran for Mayor in 2007 and currently sits on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board. Margaret Shepherd, in other words, is on the team. “I love this city and I love the housing authority,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of changes and they’ve been good.”
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That's her, clockwise from top, at the former Ivey Green Village; at the Groundbreaking of Heron Estates Senior in 2018 with Riviera Beach City Councilwoman Julia Botel; and at the Grand Opening Ceremony last month.
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We Want to Remember Ivey Green
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Watch a PowerPoint presentation
here
about how we got from Ivey Green to Heron Estates. We thank Margaret Shepherd for the historic pictures and Our Team over the years for making it happen. There are also plans for a 'museum' of sorts within Heron Estate Senior. Stay tuned!
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Get Ready: Potential Work Contracts for Locals Coming Soon
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For Heron Estates Family, our Phase 2, we have the same co-development partner and may use the same builder. But the Board wants to ensure that, for this project, more local subcontractors and local tradespeople get more of the work--a certification category called Section 3 by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Ray Wells, our Section 3 outreach coordinator, is organizing a recruitment event for local minority- and female-owned businesses and skilled tradespeople for Phase 2's needed areas of construction. Those who attend the event will find out about the project, its needs, bonding capacity and other valuable information. Learn more about Section 3
here
. We'll keep you aware as he proceeds.
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We Were in The News. Again.
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As we continue to grow, we're getting noticed: the weekly newsletter from FAHRO--the Florida Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials--wrote about us in its January 28, 2020 edition. The headline:
The Riviera Beach Housing Authority is Doing Big Things! A
nd if you want to read more about what we're doing and what is being
said
about what we're doing, visit our website, click on our newsletters below and visit our social media pages. It's all there! And, to learn more about the Tallahassee-based FAHRO, click
here
.
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Loss of a Former Executive. And Father.
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One of the first executive directors of the RBHA was David C. Thomas, who passed away February 13, 2020--and is the father of current Commissioner Delvin M. Thomas. In other words, the father-son duo worked during their own generations to create affordable housing for residents of Riviera Beach. Indeed, while the older Thomas was executive director for a period over Ivey Green Village public housing complex, which was built in 1976, the younger Thomas was Board Chairman when plans began and first-phase work finished for Heron Estates, the Ivey Green replacement. The Board and staff thank both Thomas men for their service and offer prayer to the son, their colleague.
"My father taught me the art of business and how to navigate through challenges," Commissioner Thomas said, shown at left with his father at the Heron Estates construction site in 2019. "Heron Estates was his vision for seniors 20 years ago and I'm blessed to have brought his vision to fruition."
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The 'State of the City' Address: Riviera Beach
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Stakeholders are invited to join the Mayor and City Council, the City Manager, other city officials and area residents--including those from Heron Estates, of course--to learn about the city's progress and future. The
State of the City
address is free and open to the public. Registration is encouraged. Want to go? Click
here
.
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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 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
In the last quarter, the Board has lost two fathers who led their sons down the same paths they traveled: affordable housing and real estate with Commissioner Thomas and his father, law enforcement and entrepreneurship with me and my father, Van Buren Jackson, who passed away December 29, 2019. We were both raised by our fathers, we were both close to our fathers, we both learned from our fathers. And, without a doubt, we will remember our fathers as well as one of the main things they taught us both: the critical importance of community uplift. Indeed, their lesson resounds, here, at the Riviera Beach Housing Authority, every single day. Through
all of us.
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Talking Housing in the U.S. Capitol
The National Association of Housing and Development Officials (NAHRO) will host its
2020 Washington Conference March 29-31, and three of our Board members will be there: Chairman Jeffery B. Jackson and Commissioners Horace L. Towns and Glen L. Spiritis. They will meet with the four members of Congress who represent Riviera Beach, as well as with HUD officials and housing- and funding-related Congressional Committees. Come back here in April to find out how it went.
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Read Our Other Newsletters Here:
Ever See the Video from our Grand Opening of Heron Estates Senior in January?
Check it Out Below!
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The Board of Commissioners
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Chairman Jeffery B. Jackson
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Vice-Chairwoman Jessica Thurmond
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Commissioner Delvin M. Thomas
Email
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Commissioner Horace L. Towns
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Commissioner Glen L. Spiritis
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