FORT MYERS, Fla. - eTradeWire -- The Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers's nonprofit development arm, Southwest Florida Housing Foundation, broke ground on Legacy Point, a 373-unit modern, mixed-income community that will replace the former Southward Village.

The Housing Authority and Foundation team gathered with community leaders, project partners and supporters on Oct. 16 for the groundbreaking. This event marks a major step in the progression of The Greater Dunbar Initiative, a comprehensive plan to transform the 37-acre, 199-unit Southward Village into a mixed-income community. The large-scale revitalization aims to provide affordable and workforce housing units for residents while expanding choices, creating market-rate amenities and adding new mixed-income housing to create a resilient and healthy neighborhood moving forward.

The initiative aims to tie together market preferences, resident needs and community reinvestment to transform the community into an equitable, desirable and proud neighborhood that meets the needs of all residents.

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"We are incredibly proud to celebrate the groundbreaking of Legacy Point as we take another step toward establishing modern, mixed-use residences that meet the growing needs of our community," said Marcia Davis, executive director of the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers. "Our vision is to provide safe, high-quality and affordable housing options that will positively impact the lives of families and strengthen our neighborhoods for generations to come."

The Greater Dunbar Initiative is made possible through the Southwest Florida Housing Foundation and is funded in part through a $30 million Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and more than $18 million in CDBG-DR (Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery) funding by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners and its dedicated staff.

The project is being completed in partnership with national affordable housing developer McCormack Baron Salazar. Suffolk is the contractor for the project, Besselo Architects is the architect and Morris-Depew Associates is the engineer. Completion of the site is slated for spring 2028.

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"Suffolk is honored to help bring Legacy Point to life alongside the Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers and so many dedicated partners," said Ben Wilson, general manager of Suffolk in Southwest Florida. "We are proud to have partnered with John Tobler, who grew up in the Dunbar area, and Tobler Construction on a project of this significance. It's a privilege and a reminder of why we build, creating places that uplift people and expand opportunity."

To learn more about the Housing Authority and the Greater Dunbar Initiative, visit HACFM.org (https://www.hacfm.org/) or call 239-344-3222.