RBCDC Awarded $20,000 from BB&T

March 24, 2021, RIVIERA BEACH, FLORIDA—Riviera Beach CDC Awarded $20,000 from BB&T to Help with Redevelopment Project to Get First Time Homebuyers in Affordable Housing.

In 2019, Palm Beach County donated a single-family property to the Riviera Beach CDC. Because this property was donated to us by Palm Beach County, acquisition costs, closing costs, and demolition costs were low and allowed the house to be earmarked for affordable housing for a member of Riviera Beach’s First Time Homebuyers Club. Improving the worst property in the most challenged area of the city, to benefit a very low-income family, will have a ripple effect in the neighborhood.

This property is in the heart of several improvement projects undertaken by the RBCDC and the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) including: an award-winning Community Garden, a Linear Park, sidewalk improvements, affordable housing development, owner occupied rehabilitation, many beautification projects, and a community safety initiative that includes SmartWater, cameras, and a Neighborhood Watch Program.

A generous contribution from BB&T of twenty thousand dollars served as a major portion of pre-development costs. RBCDC intends to develop a solar home including new flooring, energy efficient: HVAC, appliances, low VOC paint in/out, porcelain tile, impact windows and doors, solar roof, xeriscape landscaping, sprinkler system/rain barrel, among other items. This is innovative for this area as the buyer will be gaining a new home. They will also receive a free Safety Tool Kit that includes SmartWater, motion lights, the RING doorbell, code-acceptable house numbers, and several 10-year smoke detectors In our last residential project, BB&T provided all the end loans for our first-time homebuyers. They are a great partner in redevelopment and working with first-time homebuyers in Riviera Beach.