MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (SNN TV) – In a unanimous vote, Manatee County commissioners donated land for affordable housing for veterans.
Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge said as the population has grown, the county has also outgrown the current utilities building on 66th Street West and Cortez Road West.
The utilities building has been conveyed to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which will turn it into 112 affordable housing units for veterans.
The foundation started after 9/11 out of New York City. The foundation has built housing for veterans who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness.
“[The site’s] located near a bus line. It’s located near jobs. It’s fairly close to the beach. It’s on a main road,” said Van Ostenbridge. “It’s easy for folks to hop on a bus and get where they need to go. It’s easy for them to get to employment.”
Tunnels to Towers will have to get approvals for the buildings from the commission, but Van Ostenbridge says they’ll be expedited. He anticipates the project will be completed within a year or two.