HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The West Tampa community has seen a spike in crime lately.
ABC Action News has been walking the streets of West Tampa for months now, hearing concerns from the community.
Businesses even closed their doors and made security changes due to the recent violence.
In early February, the issue came up at a City Council meeting.
That's when Tampa Police said they would step up patrols in the area.
ABC Action News wanted to follow through and report on some of the good happening in West Tampa.
Long-time resident Rolando Bardaji is now getting his home majorly upgraded, all thanks to a grant.
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The grant comes from the West Tampa Community Redevelopment Agency or the CRA.
This is the First Residential Exterior Improvement Grant from the group.
These grants are meant to help with the affordable housing crisis and improve the community as a whole.
"We have a lot of programs that we've been working on for the West Tampa community to keep us here, to keep our charm, to keep us all rising together," said Carlos Ramirez, chair of the West Tampa CRA.
The Residential Exterior Improvement Grant Program offers owner-occupied households a matching grant of up to $25,000 for eligible exterior improvements on their homes, including exterior painting, roof repairs or replacement, HVAC system repairs or replacements and ADA accessibility improvements.
The CRA said that this grant is the first of many.
