Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/203490
APPEAL SESSIONS County Commissioner Carolyn Mason examines one of the Sarasota Housing Authority and the Sarasota Housing Funding Corp.'s King Stone Townhomes in January. Photo by Cooper Levey-Baker HOUSING AUTHORITY WIN MEANS JANIE POE REDEVELOPMENT COULD BE FINISHED SOON By Cooper Levey-Baker Associate Editor A recent victory in Tallahassee for the Sarasota Housing Authority means the completion of the final phase of the stalled Janie's Garden redevelopment project may finally be within reach. And with that will come the demolition of the last 60 units of Newtown's Janie Poe complex, notorious for its extreme disrepair and a "horrible mess" in the words of County Commissioner Nora Patterson last year. with no luck. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, also known as the 9 percent program, is really the only major affordable housing initiative left at the federal level, Housing Authority Executive Director Bill Russell tells The Sarasota News Leader. And it had been structured to the disadvantage of housing authorities: The application process was weighted to favor proximity to public It's been a long, arduous, hard- services such as bus But it took a fight to fought process. routes and schools. make it happen. The Bill Russell Authority had applied "Developers would Executive Director for federal tax credits read that and go Sarasota Housing Authority for three straight years around the state and