{"id":246994,"date":"2026-04-26T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/246994\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T05:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:00:13","slug":"city-cuts-ribbon-on-two-cdbg-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/246994\/","title":{"rendered":"City cuts ribbon on two CDBG homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city of Apopka hosted two ribbon-cutting ceremonies Friday afternoon on Eighth Street to celebrate the completion of Apopka\u2019s third and fourth\u00a0Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) homes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just so excited to be here and be a part of this celebration,\u201d said Mayor Bryan Nelson at the 28 W. Eighth St.\u00a0ribbon cutting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Mayor Bryan Nelson, the city\u00a0received<\/a>\u00a0a CDBG grant of $750,000 in 2021 and contributed $250,000, creating a total of $1 million. The grant was designed to fund the\u00a0rebuilding of three homes and renovations for two others for lower-income Apopka residents.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 28 W. Eighth St. residence, where Jose Sanchez and Damaris Fonseca live, is the third and final house to be completely rebuilt, this time due to an excess of asbestos.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took two years to do all the fixing to the house, so then I moved in March, I came back to my house,\u201d Fonseca said. \u201cI\u2019m\u00a0so\u00a0happy, because\u00a0I never thought \u2014 that gift from God.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a beautiful house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contractor Julion Bell of J.M. Bell Construction said the process ran smoothly, with the house\u2019s solar panels proving the most difficult part of the reconstruction. He\u00a0also\u00a0called Sanchez and Fonseca his \u201cbest friends\u201d and involved their input throughout.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been very rewarding just watching their faces through the process,\u201d Bell said. \u201cWhen we framed the house, we brought them in, and they came and signed the names on the frame and put little messages around the house, so that was so cool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The second Friday ribbon cutting, held a few blocks away at 407 E. Eighth St., celebrated the newly renovated home of Marilyn Perkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMeeting Ms. Perkins was a wonderful thing,\u201d said contractor Eugene Roberson of RDC Development Corporation. \u201cShe seemed very excited, especially when we turned the house over to her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"MarilynPhoto by Sarah Merly Marilyn Perkins cuts the ribbon for her newly renovated home at 407 E. Eighth St.<\/p>\n

Perkins had applied for the grant in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was an alternate, and then they finally got enough money to push me through,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cAbout a year ago, I think, I started signing my paperwork. They started in January.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perkins enjoys her new hardwood floors, larger master bedroom, and her other new features, saying the house was her New Year\u2019s testimony at church.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor New Year\u2019s, at\u00a0Watch\u00a0Night, you could give a testimony, and this was my testimony,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cThe money had finally come through for me\u2026I\u2019m just truly, truly grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Sarah Merly is an editorial assistant and reporter for The Apopka Chief. She joined the Chief in May 2025 after graduating from Patrick Henry College’s journalism program in Washington, D.C. In her spare time, Sarah loves watching rom-coms, visiting Disney, and throwing parties.<\/p>\n

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