COMMITTED TO THE FUTURE OF RURAL COMMUNITIES

FLORIDA / U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS 

2004
BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES
CHARLES W. CLEMONS, SR. 

State Director, Florida/U.S. Virgin Islands

SDA Rural Development is working hard to support

families, businesses, and communities to increase

economic opportunities and improve the quality of life

in Florida’s rural communities. Supporting President George W.

Bush’s vision of an economically strong America, USDA Rural

Development focuses efforts on three primary areas — home

ownership opportunities, business development, and community infrastructure. In the past year, Rural Development brought

real opportunities resulting in tangible results for rural communities throughout Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

It is with anticipation that we look forward to the challenges of each new year. But no one could have anticipated

just how challenging 2004 would prove to be for Floridians.

This past summer’s hurricane season was one of the most

destructive in history, and dealt extensive damage and devastation to Floridians, to Florida businesses and to Florida

industries. From Aug. 13 to Sept. 25, Hurricanes Charley,

Frances, Ivan and Jeanne pummeled the state, causing damages estimated at $42 billion. Tragically, lives were lost and

the hurricanes destroyed more than 25,000 homes and heavily damaged 4,600 more. 

But out of adversity comes strength, and it was 

heartening to see so many diverse groups and organizations working toward the common goal of assisting in 

the hurricane recovery efforts. Much remains to be done,

and working together in the coming year, USDA Rural

Development will bring rural Florida communities, 

businesses and families opportunities to rebuild, and 

continued opportunities to achieve prosperity, hope and

security. Rural Development will continue to carry forth

President Bush’s vision for Rural America, with loans and

grants for affordable housing, water and waste systems,

business and industry, and essential community facilities.

I would like to express sincere thanks to our numerous

partners and the congressional delegation for their support

and commitment in helping rural communities share in the

American dream. In closing, I’d like to thank every Rural

Development employee for their perseverance, patience, 

and their sense of teamwork in 2004. Working together 

has allowed us to navigate through a year filled with many

challenges, and I deeply appreciate their efforts.

U
Rural U.S. Department of Agriculture

Development

Mission 

To increase 

economic 

opportunity

and improve 

the quality 

of life for

all rural 

americans.

Citizens and community leaders throughout

rural American share a common desire to

bring economic opportunity and an improved

quality of life to their community. There is a

remarkable cohesiveness among rural citizens that allows the energy and enthusiasm

of local citizens to harness the resources

needed to bring solutions to economic and

social issues facing their communities.

Today, more Americans than ever are realizing their dream of becoming a homeowner.

Bringing stability to families, neighborhoods

and increasing personal family wealth

through building of financial equity in their

future. I am proud to say that 20 percent of

the first-time homeowners receiving financing this year are minority families.

We are committed to aggressively working to

help families, communities and businesses

build the basic community infrastructure,

help create more local jobs and gain access

to educational and health care services and

technologies that allow them to be better

prepared to compete in a global environment. 

While we have accomplished much, we

know that more must be done to assist more

families, businesses, and communities benefit from the financing and technical assistance USDA Rural Development provides.

That is why I

unveiled this year a

new education and

outreach effort

designed to ensure

everyone in rural

areas know what

assistance is available to help them

achieve their economic goals and

improve their quality of life. Simply put,

USDA Rural Development is the sole government agency that can build rural communities from the ground up.

To date, the Bush Administration, through

USDA Rural Development, has invested $50

billion to help create or save over 800,000

jobs. We have a team of dedicated professionals capable and ready to work with you

to improve the quality of life in rural Florida.

should be: "We have a team of dedicated

professionals capable and ready to work with

you to improve the quality of life in rural

Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Gilbert Gonzalez

ACTING UNDER SECRETARY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Community Facility Programs

Improving the quality of life for rural families

Throughout rural Florida and the U.S. Virgin

Islands, the Community Facilities program

(CF) remains a strong feature of Rural

Development financial assistance programs,

with emphasis placed on projects impacting

health care and public safety. Community

Facilities programs aid in developing essential public community facilities such as

schools, libraries, childcare, hospitals, medical clinics, assisted living facilities, fire and

rescue stations, police stations, community

centers, public buildings and transportation. 

In Florida during FY 2004, over $7.7 million

were awarded through Direct and Guaranteed

Loans and Grants. Over the past five years,

rural Floridians have benefited from over $52

million in Community Facilities program loan

and grant assistance, one of the most successful program areas nationwide. 

Loans, loan guarantees and grants

are available to financially sound

non-profit corporations, public entities, special-purpose districts and

tribal governments that have legal

authority to borrow and repay

loans, to pledge security for loans,

and to construct, operate and

maintain the facilities. Funds may

be used to construct, enlarge or

improve eligible facilities, and eligible costs include costs to acquire

land, professional fees, construction costs, and to purchase equipment for operations. The

Community Facilities Programs

continue making vital contributions

to the quality of life of rural

Americans. 

USDA has been helping rural Americans

become homeowners since 1949, investing

over $54 billion in helping people purchase or build their own homes. USDA

Rural Development Single Family Housing

programs offer home ownership and home

improvement and repair loans and grants

for individuals and families in rural areas.

In 2004, Rural Development’s Single

Family Housing service invested over 

$193 million in Florida and the U. S. Virgin

Islands, helping 2,295 families through

programs and assistance bringing

improved housing, quality of life and prosperity to rural America.

The Direct Homeownership Loan

Program (Section 502) provided $38.9

million in loans in 2004 to Florida’s lower

income individuals and families. Serving

rural persons whose incomes are below

80-percent of the median income, Section

502 loans require no down payment and

interest rates are set by Rural

Development based on family income. 

The Guaranteed Loan Program

(Section 502) provided $152 million in

guaranteed housing loans in 2004, providing opportunities for both potential

homeowners and lenders, with little cost

to the taxpayer. The program has

achieved immense success in

Florida/Virgin Islands and the

Florida/Virgin Islands program is one of

the most successful in the country. 

The Home Repair Loan and Grant

Programs (Section 504) provided 

$1.7 million in 2004 through loans and

grants to help rural families in Florida and

the Virgin Islands repair their homes.

Eligibility is restricted to very-low-income

rural homeowners age 62 and older who

can’t afford to borrow the full amount

required for necessary repairs to remove

health or safety hazards. The maximum

grant amount is $7,500.

The Self Help Housing Program

(Section 523) provided $4.1 million

which is administered through two nonprofit organizations throughout central

Florida. With Rural Development funding, they select the families, provide

economic counseling, purchase building

materials and power tools, and hire a

construction supervisor. The Technical

Assistance Grant enables the grantee to

provide oversight to groups of 6-12 families who work together to build their

own homes, performing approximately

65-percent of the labor. 

Single Family Housing

Realizing the American Dream in rural America
Rural Business and Cooperative Programs

assist rural communities in furthering their

goals of economic development and job

creation by supporting the growth of both

small and large businesses. In Fiscal Year

2004, over $32 million helped to create

and retain jobs while helping businesses

in rural Florida communities. 

Business & Industry Guaranteed

Loans (B&I) program creates incentives

for banks and rural business lenders to

promote the establishment of businesses

in rural communities with populations

less than 50,000. The Rural BusinessCooperative Service provides loan guarantees up to $10 million to lenders, providing additional incentive for business

lending that saves or creates jobs in

rural areas. In 2004, Rural BusinessCooperative Service invested over $30.4

million in Florida through the Business &

Industry Guaranteed Loans program.

Rural Business Enterprise Grants

(RBEG) focus on the financing and facilitation of small and emerging businesses

or incubators in rural areas of less than

50,000 in population. Funding is awarded

to private non-profits, public bodies, and

Indian tribes. In 2004, over $1 million in

Rural Business Enterprise Grants funding

were awarded in Florida.

Rural Economic Development Loans

and Grants (REDLG) program provides

funds to electric or telephone utilities

financed by USDA Rural Utilities Service.

The utilities recipient establishes a revolving loan fund to finance economic development and job creation projects in rural

areas for projects such as community

development projects, education, medical

facilities and incubator development. 

The Intermediary Relending Program

(IRP) is a direct loan program focusing

on alleviating poverty and increasing

economic activity and employment in

rural areas through administration of a

revolving loan fund. In 2004, Rural

Development provided $200,000 in IRP

assistance.

Rural Business Opportunity Grants

(RBOG) provide funding to promote sustainable economic development in rural

communities. In 2004, $27,500 was

awarded in Florida through the Rural

Business Opportunity Grant program in

rural communities of less than 50,000 

in population.

Rural Cooperative Development

Grants (RCDG) assist in the development of new rural cooperatives and

operational improvement of existing

cooperatives through funding to nonprofit economic development groups and

institutions of higher education. 

Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG)

Authorized as part of the 2002 Farm Bill,

the Value-Added Producer Grants program provides an opportunity for planning activities and working capital for

marketing value-added agricultural products and for farm-based renewable energy. In 2004, Rural Development awarded

$185,000 in Value-Added grants.

Rural Business and Cooperative Programs

Helping build sustainable communities

Rural Utilities Program

Helping communities meet infrastructure needs

Clean, safe and affordable water is

essential to the economic well-being

and quality of life for all of the nation’s

rural residents. The Rural Utilities

Program provides loans, grants and loan

guarantees for drinking water, sanitary

sewer, solid waste and storm drainage

facilities in rural areas and cities and

towns of 10,000 or less in population

per the 2000 census.

In Fiscal Year 2004, many of Florida’s

rural residents shared in the benefits of

Rural Development financial and technical assistance. The Rural Utilities

Program provided for infrastructure and

community development needs throughout the state by committing over $24

million in Water and Waste Direct and

Guaranteed Loans and Grants to local

governments and community based

organizations. These funds were used to

finance new as well as improved water

and wastewater facilities and modern

telecommunications links.

Projects financed in Fiscal Year 2004

included new water and waste systems

providing expanded service areas to

communities faced with inadequate or

improperly functioning onsite systems.

Major renovation and rehabilitation of

facilities to meet state regulatory

requirements were financed, as were

major system expansions to meet

growth needs and provide established

service levels to customers.

The demand for technical and financial

assistance to rural Florida/Virgin Islands

communities remains strong. In Fiscal

Year 2004 water and wastewater projects were a major area of program

emphasis
Rural Development’s Multi Family Housing

Program provides qualified residents in

rural communities affordable apartment

style rental housing. Multi Family 

Housing programs include loans for new

construction and rehabilitation of existing

units, rental assistance subsidy, and

grants for farm labor housing and housing

preservation. Today, there are over 22,000

rental units in 497 complexes throughout

Florida and the U.S.Virgin Islands that are

financed by loans and grants through

USDA multi-family housing programs.

Seventy percent of tenants are single

heads of households, and fifty percent are

elderly or disabled. Nearly half of the

Rural Development MFH portfolio provides

shelter for elderly residents, providing

opportunities for independent living in

their own communities. 

The Section 515 Rural Rental Housing

Program is a direct mortgage loan program providing capital financing to develop rental housing for very low-, low-, and

moderate-income tenants. Section 515

can be used to finance family housing,

elderly housing, mixed-use housing, congregate housing, group homes, and cooperative housing. Fiscal year 2004 began

with 10 pending and/or new applications

submitted by owners to prepay Section

515 loans. During 2004, Florida processed

$1,733,000 in equity loans. 

The Section 521 Rental Assistance

Program provides reduced rents for lowincome households in Rural Rental

Housing or Labor Housing complexes

financed by Rural Development. In 2004,

rental assistance continued to be the

dominant use of program funding with

$26.9 million representing 1,672 units of

replacement rental assistance as well as

108 units of new rental assistance. 

Repair and Rehab Loans provided $7.2

million in repair loan funds to improve

over 750 units of housing, representing 12

projects.

533 Housing Preservation Grants helped

64 low-income Florida families repair

leaking roofs, inadequate heating systems, and peeling paint with $236,000 in

assistance.

Section 514/516 Farm Labor Housing

Loan and Grant Programs helped

Florida’s farm workers find clean, safe 

and sanitary housing. Florida is one of the

largest agricultural commodity producing

states in the nation, and Rural

Development is the only national source

of construction funds dedicated to the

development of labor housing facilities.

The Farm Labor Housing Program provides

low-interest loans and grants to public or

non-profit agencies or to individual farmers to build affordable rental housing for

farm workers. In FY 2004, the program

provided $6 million in loans and grants to

build 87 units of housing in four Florida

locations.

Projects dedicated in 2004

• Omega Villas - 40 Unit Farm Labor

Housing, Quincy

• Whispering Pines - 40 Unit Farm Labor

Housing, Felsmere

• Greentree East – 40 Unit Farm Labor

Housing, Clewiston

Multi Family Housing Program

Improving the quality of life for rural Americans
STATE

4440 N.W. 25th Place (32606)

P.O. Box 147010 (32614)

Gainesville, Florida

(352) 338-3402

Fax: (352) 338-3405

TTY: (352) 338-3499

Area 1

932 North Ferdon Blvd

Suite B 

Crestview, Fl 32536

(850) 682-2416 

Fax: (850) 682-8731

Area 2

2741 Pennsylvania Ave

Suite 5

Marianna, Fl 32448-4014

(850) 526-2610

Fax: (850) 526-7534

Area 3

2303 N.E. Jacksonville Rd.

Suite 400 

Ocala, Fl 34470

(352) 732-7534 

Fax: (352) 732-9728

Area 4

1729 David Walker Dr.

Tavares, Fl 32778

(352) 742-7005

Fax: (352) 343-3858

Area 5

750 South Military Trail

Suite J

West Palm Beach, Fl 33415

(561) 683-2285

Fax: (561) 762-1129

LOCAL

Baldwin

260 US 301 North 

Baldwin, FL 32234

(904) 266-0088

Bartow

1700 Hwy 17 South

Suite 3 

Bartow, FL 33830-6633

(863) 533-2051

Chipley

1424 Jackson Ave

Suite B

Chipley, FL 32428

(850) 638-1982

DeFuniak Springs

239 John Baldwin Rd.

Suite C 

DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433

(850) 892-3712

DeLand

1342-A S. Woodland Blvd 

DeLand, FL 32720

(386) 734-2535

Live Oak

10094 US 129 South

Live Oak, FL 32060

(386) 362-2681

Marianna

2741 Pennsylvania Ave.

Suite 7

Marianna, FL 32448

(850) 526-2610

Milton

6275 Dogwood Dr.

Milton, FL 32570

(850) 623-2441

N. Fort Myers

3434 Hancock Bridge Pkwy

Suite 209-A

N. Fort Myers, FL 33903-7005

(239) 997-7331

Rural Development Offices

Ocala

2303 N.E. Jacksonville Rd

Suite 300 

Ocala, FL 34470

(352) 732-7534

Okeechobee

454 N.W. Hwy 98

Okeechobee, FL 34972

(863) 763-3345

Plant City

201 S Collins St, 2nd Floor

Plant City, FL 33563

(813) 752-1474

Quincy

2138 W. Jefferson St 

Quincy, FL 32351

(850) 627-63651

St. Croix

5030 Anchorway

Gallows Bay, Suite 4 

St. Croix, VI 00820

(340) 773-9146

Tavares

1725 David Walker Dr

Tavares, FL 32778

(352)742-7005

West Palm Beach

750 South Military Trail

Suite H

West Palm Beach, FL 33415

(561) 683-2285

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in 

all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin,

sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation or 

marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9420 or call 202-720-5964 (voice

and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. www.rurdev.usda.gov/fl/