Greater Dunbar initiative begins

A duplex that has been around since the 1960s and is filled with generations of memories is being demolished.

“I met my high school sweetheart out here in this project,” said Maple White, a previous resident of Southward Village.

It was a bitter-sweet moment for White, letting go of the memories she created there and now open to the idea of making new ones.

“All of us were like families. The people out here, everything was nice, and I’m just so sad about everything. Well, I’m sad, but then I’m happy.” said White.

The senior vice president of development for the southeast, Sandra Seals, says the housing authority is trying to rebuild this low-income development from the ground up.

“We believe a healthy community is one that has all incomes. So you have some families that are making less and some families who are making more,” said Seals.

The housing authority says this change is to create a safe family-friendly environment in Dunbar.

“The reason being is that it qualified for a choice neighborhood implementation grant, and it is old and obsolete public housing, and that’s why this site was chosen,” said Marcia Davis, Executive director of the Housing Authority of Fort Myers.

This plan was in place before the pandemic, and after delays, residents were relocated last year.

“We didn’t just dream up this stuff; it was a contorted effort between all the stakeholders and an effort with the residents who live here,” said Davis. What do you want to see in your new community? Because I’m not building it for me, we are building it for the community and folks who live here, so their input has been here since the beginning, and we just executed the plan.”