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ASHEVILLE – Up to 320 of Asheville's poorest residents would be forced to move under a federal program to replace one of the city's most distressed public housing complexes with a mixed-income neighborhood.
Those who could be moved, as well as residents living near public housing, gave varied reactions to the HOPE VI program. The program would use private capital and about $15 million in federal money to overhaul one of two complexes: Lee-Walker Heights off Short Coxe Avenue or Aston Park Tower and Garden Apartments on South French Broad Avenue.
Getting the grant money is far from guaranteed. Asheville Housing Authority officials began the arduous and highly competitive application process last week. The federal government has not yet said when it will make a decision.
Some residents supported the program. Others, though, said it would tear apart tightly knit neighborhoods.
“I've been living in Lee-Walker Heights for six years, and I haven't had any problems,” said Celia McDow, 24, who lives in the complex just north of Mission Hospital with her son, 7, and daughter, 5. McDow works in the cafeteria at Ira B. Jones Elementary School and said she can get help from neighbors and walk to most places where she needs to go. That would change if she had to move.
“I really do love my community. Anything I need, my community is there for me,” she said.
Concentrated poverty
The concept behind HOPE VI is to disperse concentrated areas of poverty, which proponents of the program say foster crime and other social ills. Federal and private money is used to replace publicly owned housing with a mixed-income neighborhood of working- and middle-class as well as taxpayer-subsidized homes.
In past years, the grant has been difficult to get, but housing authority officials now think more money will be available. They hope to win a grant this year or next to overhaul one of the complexes.
Last year, four to five HOPE VI applicants were selected out of a field of about 30, said David Nash, the Housing Authority's chief operations officer. This year, funding was bumped up from approximately $100 million to $120 million, and there is hope that amount will rise to $600 million in years to come, he said.
The City Council has not taken an official vote on the issue, though some council members have expressed support for the program. That kind of backing will be vital in getting the grant. Housing authority officials plan to report back to the council in a month or two and will likely ask for financial help preparing the application.
One council member, Carl Mumpower, questioned whether the mixed-income model would work and said government shouldn't be spending money on such programs during a budget crisis.
Many Lee-Walker Heights residents also don't think the program would help them in the long run, resident McDow said. Officials may consider the complex dangerous, but residents feel it would be worse in other public housing, McDow said.
“They (residents) were really upset about the idea,” she said.
Housing authority officials said those who would be moved could choose to go to another public housing complex or into private housing that accepts public vouchers. They would get money to help them relocate, said Nash.
Every attempt would be made to allow relatives living in different households in one complex to stay together, he said.
Once the complex is rebuilt, people could apply to come back.
“Anybody who has a good rental history and meets the criteria, which is elderly, disabled or working, would be able to move back,” said Nash.
If all goes smoothly, construction could be finished in three years, he said. More HERE
