FEMA trailer resort coming to Cape Coral
Those still without housing from Hurricane Ian can start moving into the 105 FEMA travel trailers in Northwest Cape Coral on Wednesday.
Currently, 225 families in SWFL have access to temporary travel trailers or manufactured housing, officials said.
"The project is an agreement between the private property owner of Tranquility Lakes and FEMA to lease the space to provide direct housing," Cape Coral Spokeswoman Melissa Mickey said.
A certificate of occupancy was received last week to allow for FEMA to set up the site starting on Wednesday at the empty RV resort in the northwest part of the city.
As of Thursday, 50 trailers have been placed at the site.
The Direct Temporary Housing Assistance program started in late October by FEMA, which helped provided housing through a direct leasing program, multifamily leasing repair program, mobile homes, and travel trailers.
Keith Denning, FEMA Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer, said 333 apartment units have been leased to house SWFL families since launching.
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Other assistance includes 68,000 Florida households receiving $623 million in financial assistance for rent or basic home repairs, and 4,500 households who have stayed in hotels under the transitional sheltering assistance program.
FEMA started deploying trailers in January citing challenges that prevented them from bringing the trailers much sooner.
"We had we had a challenge with Lee County being most mostly a special flood hazard area, and we needed to make sure that we were in accordance with all regular federal regulations, state, and local ordinances," Denning said. "So we were able to meet that challenge and start placing travelers in areas where we normally would not be doing so.
Units are leased to individuals and families for up to 18 months.
A travel trailer can fit a family of three to six and includes bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area, and a living room. The size of the unit depends on the needs of the eligible applicant and the manufacturer of the unit.
The RV resort at Tranquility Lake is a luxury 55+ RV resort on a 90-acre lake containing concrete pads with 50-amp full hookup pedestals and stamped concrete picnic areas to house the travel trailers, its website reports.
The deadline to apply for temporary sheltering through Unite Florida is February 17. Additionally, households are still able to apply for temporary or permanent home repairs and additional unmet needs after Friday.
Nearly 3,000 households are eligible for a travel trailer or manufactured housing unit, according to a press release.
In addition to the 225 units that are occupied, 408 units are being prepared and site inspections are underway for more locations.
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Denning said more commercial parks leases such as Cape Coral will be coming to other parts of Lee County.
"We're looking at several sites in Lee County for four group sites," Denning said.
A site near Pine Island is under consideration, Denning said.
"It's where the need is and we want to get people as close as possible to their damaged dwelling, so we are concerned about Pine Island and the housing needs there," Denning said.
Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral receives 105 FEMA trailers, more planned for Lee County
