Missed deadline costs Orlando $400,000 in federal funds

ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando has lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money it would have used to renovate homes for low income renters because it missed the deadline to file for the money.

A spokesperson at City Hall said the extensive process and strict guidelines for the grant money are what caused them to miss the deadline.

Now some residents could be missing out on affordable places to live.

"When I lost my job, I pretty much lost everything," said Orlando resident Dwan Irving.

Irving is one of many people who live in low income housing, not because he wants to, but because it's all he, and others in his situation, can afford.

"I collect $416 every two weeks from unemployment. I worked seven years and got laid off," said Irving.

Orlando is using Department of Housing and Urban Development funding to make apartments livable for low income renters like Irving.

But poor planning may have just caused the city to lose out on more than $407,000 dollars in HUD money that is earmarked for these types of projects.

When asked about the loss of funds, a city representative said "there is no impact to any programs."

For an idea of what that money could have bought, WFTV's Renee Stoll took a look at what it's paying to renovate 27 apartments.

Roofing repairs for the apartments cost $49,200. Exterior painting of the apartments costs $31,500. It is costing $6,500 to repair sidewalks.

The city is spending $60,060 on appliances and $38,442 on carpentry.

Doors and windows are costing the city $65,558, cabinets $64,630, and 27 air conditioning units cost $83,500. and still have $7,000 to spare.

The city was able to meet the guidelines to receive nearly $1 million that will go towards projects similar to the apartment renovations.

Officials said the $400,000 that Orlando didn't collect will go back to HUD to be used by other governments.

WFTV