Hurricane Idalia damaged hundreds of homes along the gulf coast nearly a month ago, but as the cleanup continues, residents of the small Manatee County community of Rubonia face an uncertain future.
Even though Hurricane Idalia dodged Tampa, it still brought a significant storm surge. It flooded coastal communities like Rubonia, a historically-Black community north of Palmetto in Manatee County.
Since its groundbreaking in late 2020, nearly 80 businesses have worked on the five story, 85,000-square-foot building – about half are diverse-owned with an estimated spend on contracts exceeding $11 million.
Two dozen local businesses have completed the USF Mentor Protégé program, which provides businesses in the construction industry with training, development and partnership opportunities to help them grow their capacity and become more effective with competitive bidding processes.
The mentor-protégé program provides businesses with training, development and partnership opportunities to help them grow their capacity and become more effective with competitive bidding processes.