Just as home sales nationwide have plummeted to unexpected lows, the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority has approved a plan to renovate local public housing, including units on West Main Street and Sixth Street, as well as in Westhaven.
"Our public housing stack is old and crumbling and it was built on the old model of public housing," Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris said.
To help overcome these issues, renovation may first involve demolition, followed by rebuilding.
"All of these properties are in various stages of disrepair and in need of a big reinvestment," City Council member David Brown said.
The Housing Authority aims to create more mixed-income neighborhoods of better quality. This plan would reduce the current high concentration of low-income families in public housing neighborhoods, Norris said. Planners will pursue this goal by building higher density housing and adding market-rate housing and home-ownership opportunities, he said.
The National Association of Realtors recently released data that shows that sales dropped 27 percent in July, the largest monthly dip in 40 years, despite the record-low mortgage rates.
The Charlottesville housing project is estimated to cost $115 million, Norris said. Funding will be provided through city dollars, federal grants and tax credits through various projects during the span of 10 to 15 years, he said. Although housing authorities have been underfunded for more than a decade, the current administration in Washington is expected to contribute to the project, Brown said. Money through market-rate housing will be spent on improvements to public housing units, he added.
Before renovation begins, public housing residents will be moved to new housing of 36 units, which will be built on the corner of Avon and Garret Streets, Brown said.
"One of our goals is to make sure that no one is left without housing during the course of the implementation of this plan," he said.
A start date for the renovations has not yet been established.
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