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Cost concerns over home raising process
Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A new storm recovery program is trying to help homeowners build back stronger after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The Elevate Florida program is the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s new, federally funded residential mitigation program. It's now accepting applications for funding for different resiliency projects, including raising homes.
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By the numbers:
Funding from a federal grant will cover at least 75% of the project’s cost. The cost will include relocation expenses during construction. Property owners will be required to cover up to 25% of the total project cost.
The cost to raise a home varies, but it could cost several hundred thousand dollars. The FDEM said the total construction cost will be determined during the initial review period.
What to Know:
In order to be eligible for the program, you must be a U.S. citizen who is 18 years or older. You also must be a legal residential property owner in Florida.
The FDEM said multi-family properties like duplexes, triplexes, condos, townhomes, semi-detached homes, apartments and manufactured homes may be eligible. It said the property does not need to have experienced flooding or damage in the past to be considered.
However, the state said applications will be prioritized by the history of loss. Secondary residences may be eligible if there’s enough funding.
Local perspective:
Four months after Helene, homes in St. Pete are still under construction. Families across the Tampa Bay area have been displaced from their homes for months.
"Everything was gone," Jose Berrios, who lives in St. Pete, said. "We weren’t really expecting it, because we’ve never flooded."
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Berrios said they had 18 inches of water inside their home, which had never flooded before. He considers himself lucky though, because he hopes to move back into his home in about a week. He said the rebuild process has still been extremely difficult and time-consuming.
"We were surprised how much work it was," Berrios said. "We were surprised at just how much paperwork there is."
Some homeowners are filing even more paperwork now to apply for the Elevate Florida program.
Leaders in some hard-hit areas, like St. Pete Beach hopes the program will help limit the number of people who are displaced after future storms and help lower insurance premiums for homeowners.
"Any time you can elevate above the floodplain, reduce the impacts to your personal home and belongings, it benefits them, certainly benefits the community," St. Pete Beach’s Interim Community Development Director Denise Sanderson said.
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Dig deeper:
The program funds structure elevation, mitigation reconstruction, acquisition and demolition and wind mitigation. The state also oversees the construction process and determines approved contractors for the projects.
The entire process could be extremely time-consuming, though. The FDEM said the process could take a year or two, from start to finish.
"It will be a lengthy process," Sanderson said. "And, for those that are displaced from home, the city of St. Pete Beach does offer minimal repair permits so that folks can safely reoccupy their home while awaiting the outcome of a process like this."
You can find more information about the Elevate Florida program and how to apply here.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with residents and St. Pete Beach officials as well as information from the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
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