Brevard wins nearly $9M in federal money for new supportive housing for homeless residents in Titusville and Melbourne

Brevard County has won $8,999,760 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to create new permanent supportive housing, meaning long-term homes paired with services, for people experiencing homelessness in Titusville and Melbourne.

The money comes from HUD’s Continuum of Care Builds program. U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos announced it in an Oct. 8 press release. HUD had announced on Oct. 2 that it was awarding $97.7 million in CoC Builds money to 13 projects nationwide, including $8,999,760 to Carrfour Supportive Housing for Brevard’s network. Florida’s other award in that round was $7 million to the Tampa Housing Authority.

The Brevard Homeless Coalition, the lead agency for the county’s federal homeless-services network, worked on the application with Carrfour, a nonprofit supportive-housing developer that started in Miami-Dade in 1993.

“After more than two years and three applications, securing nearly $9 million for permanent supportive housing in Brevard County is an incredible victory for our community,” Amber Carroll, the coalition’s executive director, said in the release. She thanked Haridopolos and his staff “for staying engaged and advocating for this investment when the outcome was uncertain,” and said the money “will help Carrfour Supportive Housing and our Continuum of Care expand much-needed housing opportunities in Titusville and Melbourne.”

Haridopolos’ office said he supported the application, provided a letter of support and worked directly with HUD on the project. “Nearly $9 million is coming back home to help put a roof over the heads of some of our most vulnerable neighbors and give them a path toward stability,” he said.

What CoC Builds pays for

HUD released its latest CoC Builds funding notice on June 24, making $100 million available nationwide, according to the coalition. The program pays for new permanent supportive housing through new construction, buying buildings or rehabilitating them. It can also cover project-based rental assistance, supportive services, operating costs and administration, and it encourages communities to combine the federal money with state, local and private funding. Applications were due July 23.

Why it took three tries

Brevard’s network, known to HUD as FL-513, ran a local competition for CoC Builds money and picked Carrfour as the project sponsor. HUD then selected the project in a national competition; the coalition says it was the only project picked in Florida in that earlier round. But HUD never signed the grant agreements and instead put out new CoC Builds funding notices, ending with this year’s. Carrfour submitted an updated application under the new rules.

News 6 reported in October 2025 that the earlier award was $5.6 million for Apollo Gardens, a $75 million Titusville complex for elderly people and people with disabilities who are homeless. HUD had notified Congress of the winners in August 2025, then reissued the competition on Sept. 5 with new criteria and a one-week deadline.

Which buildings? Not said yet

Neither the Oct. 8 release nor HUD’s award list says which properties the $8,999,760 pays for, how many units it adds or how it is split between Titusville and Melbourne.

Carrfour already has projects in both cities. In Titusville, Apollo Gardens is planned as 84 supportive units; Carrfour’s chief executive, Stephanie Berman-Eisenberg, has called its future residents “the highest need adults in Brevard County.” Its lender, the Florida Community Loan Fund, said the majority of residents were expected to earn 50% or less of the area median income and listed completion and occupancy in 2025. 321 Daily could not confirm the building’s current status.

In Melbourne, Carrfour built Heritage Park at Crane Creek at 2550 S. Grant St. Multi-Housing News reported in 2020 that its 108 units would include 56 permanent supportive units for formerly homeless residents, 22 of them reserved for households with disabling conditions.

The need

Volunteers counted 1,039 people experiencing homelessness in Brevard on the night of Jan. 22, according to the coalition’s annual point-in-time count. That’s down 2% from 1,062 in 2025 but up about 26% from 827 in 2016. Unsheltered homelessness fell 12% to 618, while the number of people in shelters rose 16% to 421.

The count is a one-night snapshot of people in shelters, transitional housing or places not meant for habitation, so it misses many people who are doubled up with others. Brevard Public Schools, for example, counted 837 students living doubled up. Meanwhile, the county’s permanent supportive housing inventory fell from 460 beds in 2023 to 426 in 2026.

A shaky federal backdrop

The award comes during a turbulent year for HUD homeless funding. On Aug. 7 the coalition reported that a federal district court had vacated HUD’s main 2026 Continuum of Care funding notice, finding the agency hadn’t completed public notice and comment before creating a $1.3 billion set-aside. On Sept. 16, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that ruling while HUD appeals. HUD reopened the competition with a Sept. 30 deadline, and the coalition said it was proceeding with Brevard’s application. That regular round, which pays for ongoing local programs, is separate from the CoC Builds construction money.

Open questions

• Which properties or projects does the $8,999,760 fund, and how many new units does it create?

• How is the money divided between Titusville and Melbourne, and between construction and services, rental assistance or operations?

• When will construction start, and when can residents move in?

• What local, state or private money is attached?

• Who will be eligible?

• Has HUD signed a grant agreement, and does this award replace the earlier $5.6 million Apollo Gardens selection?

321 Daily has not yet contacted HUD, the coalition, Carrfour or Haridopolos’ office about these questions. This story is based on public statements and documents.