With 350 townhomes and a 97 percent occupancy rate, Bradenton Village is the biggest local success story for the federal HOPE VI program.

The colorful homes were built in the late 1990s just west of U.S. 41 and north of 17th Avenue West, replacing the crime-ridden public housing units known as Rogers Garden.

Speaking before a small group inside the revitalized neighborhood Thursday, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, urged residents who want to see more of the same to contact other Washington representatives in support of the program.

"We're here to celebrate the progress that has been made through the HOPE VI program, and to celebrate the passage of landmark legislation to reauthorize it," Castor told a gathering of about 30 local leaders and Bradenton Village residents. Later she added, "Talk to senators (Mel) Martinez and (Bill) Nelson and encourage them to move this along."

In recent years, the program has received about $100 million a year for grants to public-housing agencies to demolish deteriorated public housing like the former Rogers Garden and replace it with the new homes like Bradenton Village. Last week the U.S. House of Representatives voted 271-130 to extend HOPE VI through 2015, and approved the spending of up to $800 million a year.

New funding could go to revamp other neighborhoods in east Bradenton, according to Bradenton Housing Authority Executive Director Wenston DeSue. His group won another victory Wednesday when the Bradenton City Council approved a land swap to bring more affordable housing and a new school to Bradenton Village.

DeSue called the reauthorization bill one of the most important pieces of legislation in the country regarding affordable housing.

"That field represents a lot of things for this community, namely the opportunity for the housing authority to evolve," DeSue said, pointing west to a plot where the new school will be built in 2009. "This bricks-and-mortar project helps get rid of blight and build communities with day cares, schools, nurseries and community centers."

The HOPE VI reauthorization would require demolished public-housing units to be replaced with an equal number of mixed-income units, and that revitalization projects meet green development standards.

After the gathering, Castor said she's confident the measure will pass muster with the U.S. Senate later this year.

"The prospects look good," Castor said. "People across the country are crying for help. I don't think there are many reasons for them to hold it up."


Nicholas Azzara, county reporter, can be reached at 745-7081.