Nassau County to Open Bids for SHIP Home Rehabilitation Project in Yulee

Nassau County will publicly open bids for a home rehabilitation project funded through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership program on August 20 at the Robert M. Foster Justice Center in Yulee. The solicitation, designated NC26-010-ITB SHIP Rehabilitation Project #242AT-505, is part of the county's ongoing affordable housing efforts under state and federal guidelines.

The bid opening is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Justice Center, located at 76347 Veterans Way, with the county's Procurement Director conducting the public meeting under authority delegated by the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners. No award decision will be made at the meeting itself, according to the official notice posted by the county.

What's happening

The county is seeking contractor bids for SHIP Rehabilitation Project #242AT-505 through an Invitation to Bid (ITB) process. The solicitation opening will take place August 20, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in Suite 456 on the second floor of the Robert M. Foster Justice Center in Yulee.

The project falls under the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, a Florida program that provides funds to local governments as an incentive to create partnerships that produce and preserve affordable homeownership and multifamily housing. SHIP dollars typically fund down payment assistance, new construction, and rehabilitation of existing homes for income-eligible households.

The procurement follows Section 255.0518 and Section 286.011 of Florida Statutes, which govern competitive bidding for construction projects and public meeting requirements. The Board of County Commissioners has delegated authority to the Procurement Director to conduct the bid opening, a standard practice for construction solicitations in Florida counties.

The public is invited to attend the bid opening. Residents needing accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act must contact the County Manager's Office at least 72 hours before the meeting at 904-530-6010 or contact@nassaucountyfl.com.

How SHIP funding works in Florida

The State Housing Initiatives Partnership is Florida's largest affordable housing program, funded by documentary stamp tax revenue on real estate transactions. The state distributes SHIP funds annually to all 67 counties and certain municipalities based on population, with local governments required to develop Local Housing Assistance Plans detailing how they will use the money.

Nassau County typically uses its SHIP allocation for owner-occupied rehabilitation projects, down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, and gap financing for affordable rental developments. Rehabilitation projects under SHIP usually address code violations, health and safety hazards, accessibility improvements, and energy efficiency upgrades in homes owned by low- and moderate-income households.

Projects are identified and prioritized through the county's Housing Services division, which evaluates applications from income-eligible homeowners and coordinates inspections to determine scope of work. Contractors bidding on SHIP rehabilitation projects must meet state and local licensing requirements and often need experience with federal lead-based paint regulations and accessibility standards that apply to publicly funded housing work.

The individual project number — #242AT-505 — suggests this is one rehabilitation project among multiple addresses the county is managing through its current SHIP allocation cycle. Florida counties typically batch similar rehabilitation projects for bidding efficiency, though each project is bid separately to ensure competitive pricing and proper scope matching.

What this means for Nassau County housing

Nassau County's use of SHIP funds for home rehabilitation addresses a critical need in one of Florida's fastest-growing counties, where rapid development has increased property values and housing costs while leaving pockets of older housing stock in need of repair. The program allows income-eligible homeowners to remain in their homes by funding improvements they could not otherwise afford, stabilizing neighborhoods experiencing gentrification pressure from new development.

The county's SHIP program is particularly relevant along the SR 200 and A1A corridors and in older Yulee neighborhoods, where longtime residents on fixed incomes live near fast-appreciating property adjacent to new master-planned communities like Wildlight. Rehabilitation projects help preserve naturally occurring affordable housing — existing homes with lower price points — which is critical in a county where new construction increasingly targets higher-income buyers.

SHIP rehabilitation also has environmental and infrastructure benefits. Energy efficiency upgrades required under the program reduce utility bills for low-income households and decrease demand on the electric grid. Plumbing and septic repairs prevent groundwater contamination in areas of Nassau County still reliant on individual septic systems, protecting water quality in sensitive coastal watersheds including the Nassau River and surrounding marshes.

The program's income-eligibility requirements — typically 120% to 140% of area median income for rehabilitation, lower for rental projects — mean SHIP serves working families, not just the very poor. In Nassau County, that includes teachers, healthcare workers, service employees, and retirees whose incomes have not kept pace with the county's rapid property-value appreciation driven by migration from higher-cost markets.

What happens next

Bids will be opened publicly at the August 20 meeting, with all submitted proposals read aloud for the record. The Procurement Director will then conduct a technical review to verify bidders meet licensing, insurance, and bonding requirements and that their proposals are responsive to the solicitation specifications.

Following the technical review, county staff will evaluate bids based on price and contractor qualifications, then prepare a recommendation for award. That recommendation typically goes to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval at a subsequent public meeting, usually within 30 to 60 days of the bid opening.

Once a contract is awarded, the selected contractor will coordinate with the county's Housing Services division and the property owner to schedule the rehabilitation work. SHIP-funded projects generally must be completed within 120 to 180 days of contract execution, with progress inspections and final certification by county staff to ensure work meets program standards and building codes.

Homeowners interested in applying for future SHIP rehabilitation assistance can contact Nassau County's Housing Services division. The county accepts applications on a rolling basis and maintains a waiting list prioritized by severity of housing code violations, household income, and vulnerability factors such as elderly or disabled occupants.

The bid opening is part of Nassau County's broader effort to balance explosive residential growth — the county added more than 10,000 new residents between 2020 and 2024 — with preservation of housing affordability and community stability. As new development continues along the Interstate 95 corridor and coastal areas, SHIP and similar programs provide a policy tool to prevent wholesale displacement of existing lower- and moderate-income residents, maintaining the economic diversity that characterizes Northeast Florida's smaller coastal counties.