Extreme Makeover: County Demolition Edition
Woman claims county renovations to her house have left her with half a home
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A homeowner was looking for an extreme makeover, but got more than she bargained for from the county.
Gloria Brown thought she was receiving a timely blessing when Broward County officials said they would repair her home for free.
But the dream renovation of her West Park home was short lived and the county ordered that half of Brown’s home – the half that was repaired - be demolished.
“The whole back was gone,” said Brown, who lives on a fixed income and doesn’t have the money to repair the damage county officials left.
Brown has no hot water because the county took away the new water heater they installed. Severed electrical wires and a broken post are signs of the electricity that used to flow through Brown’s Florida room addition that no longer exists.
County housing officials said they stopped fixing Brown’s home because she didn’t like what was being done. Alternative plans are still being considered, but no resolution appears to be in sight.
The renovation was actually funded by a state grant program for low-income residents. Miami-Dade received about $25 million from the housing initiative. Broward fixed up about 450 homes with its $9 million.
That money has been cut from the budget, which could cause an even bigger problem for funding a solution.
For now, Brown is stuck in half a house with no power and in need of an extreme makeover. But don’t expect her to take the government up on an offer anytime soon.
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