Jacksonville officials announced Tuesday an Ohio-based company is interested in buying the troubled low-income housing complex Eureka Garden.
Mayor Lenny Curry told reporters he’s optimistic after a phone call with Millennia Housing Management CEO Frank Sinito.
Curry said Sinito assured him he has the cash on hand to fix the complex’s code violations and safety issues.
“This person has visited the properties that they’re looking at, recognizes the needs for the capital improvement and will only follow through on this transaction if they can in fact invest what needs to be invested to make sure that these properties are up to par,” Curry said.
Curry also said Sinito had experience in turning declining housing complexes around.
The federal Housing and Urban Development Departmentannounced in August a company was interested in buying all Florida properties owned by the Global Ministries Foundation, including Eureka Garden.
“There will be an extremely stringent review of that owner. Not only looking at whether or not they have experience owning multifamily properties, but looking at what capital is available to make immediate repairs,” HUD representative Lauryn Alleva more than a month ago.
It’s not clear when Millennia could close the deal, but HUD said it would fully vet any company that steps up to take over.
Reporter Ryan Benk can be reached at rbenk@wjct.org, at (904) 358 6319 or on Twitter @RyanMichaelBenk
