FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence City Council passed an ordinance Monday that gets them one step closer to their building permits for new homes they plan to build as part of their neighborhood revitalization project.
News 13 first told you about this project three years ago, where city leaders made plans to use $3 million of tax payer money to revamp and rebuild Florence neighborhoods, but now Florence City Administrator Drew Griffin says they plan to spend millions more.
“Total, we are closer to spending 8 to 9 million and not just the 3,” said Griffin.
Griffin says they now plan to use housing assistance money from HUD, funds from a SC Community Loan Fund, and $300,000 they set aside of planning money to help jumpstart the project.
Teresa Myers Ervin is the chairperson of the Florence Community Stabilization and Revitalization Board, and she says the hope is to encourage home ownership in the older neighborhoods.
The city says they plan to start in the North Vista area, near the North Vista School. They say they’ve already purchased the land and they plan to start building new homes there this summer.
“The ones that outline the City of Florence are your original communities. So, they’re older communities. Now, we need to look at what can we do to revamp them and make sure we have continuous life here in Florence,” said Ervin.
The city also has plans to work on similar projects around Pine Street, Sumter Street, and Alexander Street.
Griffin says they also plan to use money from a penny sales tax to redevelop streets and add sidewalks in those revitalization neighborhoods.
