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West Palm Beach moves forward with plans to rebuild Dunbar Village

Monday, December 15, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH — Plans to rebuild Dunbar Village, the city's most notorious housing complex, took a step forward tonight with city commission approval of $50 million bond offering.The project is to be undertaken by the West Palm Beach Housing Authority, but Internal Revenue Service rules required that the city approve it. The commissioners voted unanimously for the resolution.The once crime-ridden, 245-unit, housing project was the scene of a horrific attack on a mother and her then 12-year-old son in June 2007, sparking a national uproar.Plans to rebuild the complex are still in the early stages, as the housing authority charts a course with Landmark Development Corp. and as they wait for completion of a city study evaluating the best way to revitalize the Coleman Park neighborhood, officials said.The authority roughly estimates that a new project on the site would include 375 new units.A contingent of Dunbar Village residents cheered the bond approval tonight. Several urged the city to demolish the project rather than try to repair and preserve it, with its unhealthy conditions."We live there 24 hours a day," said one resident. "I just don't want my child to go through any more suffering. Both of us take allergy shots. This is an early Christmas present for us and we just want to say thank you, any help we'll take it, any advice, we'll listen to it."

By TONY DORIS-Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Mission Statement: To provide safe, decent and affordable public housing to persons and families with limited financial resources and to provide residents with access to programs, which will assist them in making the transition to greater financial security.