TEMPLE TERRACE — Temple Terrace residents who suffered damage during hurricanes Helene and Milton, even in a city that avoided the worst of the storms, may soon get financial relief through a new $211 million county recovery program.
The initiative, branded as “Rebuilding for Tomorrow,” is part of the county’s first-ever allocation of Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funding. In total, more than $700 million was awarded to Hillsborough County through the federal program, with $291 million earmarked for housing. Of that, $211 million will go specifically toward single-family homes.
“We’ve been waiting for some sort of relief for our residents in Hillsborough County,” said Audrey Ziegler at a recent Temple Terrace City Council meeting, noting that some residents are still living in unsafe or partially uninhabitable conditions.
In addition to funding for homeowner assistance, some of the grant money will go toward repairing damaged roads, canals, culverts, pump stations and wastewater lift stations, as well as improvements for the area’s resilience for future storms.
The program will serve homeowners across Hillsborough County, including Temple Terrace, Plant City and the city of Tampa. It applies to owner-occupied single-family homes, including manufactured and mobile homes, that were damaged by the hurricanes. Roughly 150 homes in the Temple Terrace area, for example, filed FEMA claims after the storms.
Angela Medero, the county’s Social Services manager, said the county estimates it will assist about 1,000 households.
Eligibility includes an income component, with the county able to serve households up to 120% of Area Median Income (AMI), or a little over $125,000 a year. However, the county will prioritize households at or below 80% AMI, which is $83,000 for a family of four.
The program has three types of assistance.
• Reimbursement for eligible repairs already completed by homeowners, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 if the work was properly permitted and meets required building standards.
• Repairs up to $150,000 in funding for repairs that have not been completed.
• Reconstruction up to $350,000 to replace or reconstruct severely damaged homes.
Repairs and reconstruction will focus on bringing homes up to safe and sanitary standards, with additional hurricane-proofing like impact-resistant windows and roofs designed to withstand storms.
The program will not pay for work already funded by another federal program. The county will, however, have mechanisms to help those who received some prior assistance but may still qualify for help.
Medero said checks for reimbursement cases could begin going out as early as July, with repair work ramping up by August. Reconstruction will be determined when applications have been evaluated.
The county has set up a primary intake center at 1029 E. Hillsborough Ave. as well as a call center, with both open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. throughout May. There are also social service resource centers open in Plant City, near Fletcher Avenue, Ybor City and West Tampa, and an additional site in Wimauma.
Ziegler said the county is making the application process as easy as possible. Applicants can submit just their name, address and contact information, and case managers will follow up to help guide the remaining process and gather the necessary documents.
“I know other surrounding areas have launched, and we’re kind of the last one to launch, but we have a very thoughtful product, and we have a very simplified application, so we already have our call center open,” she said. “I just want to give you all the comfort level that we’re doing things right, and we’re here to help the most residents we can become eligible and get the services to the people that have been waiting and need them.”
Visit RebuildingForTomorrow.hcfl.gov/en-US/Hillsborough to access applications and receive answers to common questions.