Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408080036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Richard Hudson was tired of living at a Roanoke-area homeless shelter. So he applied at the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority for a three-bedroom apartment in one of its public housing developments.
He was offered several units but refused them. He specifically wanted one in Jamestown Place, a Southeast Roanoke development where his sister lived.
That development is popular. Vacancies there are rare. The authority had one, but told Hudson it would be a week before he could move in.
Hudson, 50, decided to wait. He and his 14- and 16-year-old sons lived out of a pickup truck until the Jamestown apartment was ready. Thursday, they moved in.
Hudson's situation illustrates a problem that the housing authority has pledged, through a 45-day program, to alleviate: plenty of vacant apartments at some of the city's housing developments but no one willing to occupy them.
The housing authority has embarked on "Operation Full House," an effort to fight the vacancy dilemma through public relations, fee waivers and spruce-ups.
"I guarantee you there are units available," said David Baldwin, the authority's director of housing. "But for their own reasons, applicants decide there is one place that they want to move to out of 10 possible developments. Rather than accept what's available, families often decline what's available."
Consequently, a number of apartment units - most of them in less-popular developments - remain vacant.
More than 80 of the housing authority's 1,467 units are vacant. Half of those are ready for someone to move into, Baldwin said. Yet the authority has a waiting list of 240, all with approved applications.
"We have essentially fulfilled our obligation to the people on the waiting list," Baldwin said. "We've offered them units but for their own reasons, they've declined. Now we're making a special effort to let the public know we have units and are ready to process applications from new people."
Many of the vacancies are the result of crime-reduction efforts. Nearly two years ago, the authority appointed a panel, at the request of the developments' residents' council, to screen applicants, in part for credit histories and criminal records. COPE - the Community Oriented Policing Effort - identified residents involved in drug activity.
Those involved in drug activity were evicted, Baldwin said. "And by screening people we weren't necessarily approving all people who walked through the door. We ended up with a higher vacancy rate than we would like."
If successful, "Operation Full House" is expected to reduce the number of vacancies to 42 or less by Sept. 15 and double the number of new move-ins per week by putting more hours into getting vacant units ready for occupancy. Employees in all authority departments are volunteering their time on weekdays and Saturdays to clean and paint units.
The authority is offering to waive the $75 security deposit for people who sign a lease for a Lincoln Terrace apartment or Melrose Towers efficiency - the two developments, both in Northwest Roanoke, with the most vacancies. This week, five units at Lincoln Terrace and two at Melrose Towers were rented because of the waiver offer, Baldwin said.
The authority also is exploring longer-term solutions to the vacancy problem, he said.
"We're going to look at the market and analyze what people think of various sites," he said. "What do they like about Jamestown but don't like about Lansdowne? We want to determine what we need to do to promote the positive features of all of our sites and see if there's something we need to do to correct the situation or see if it's just a matter of people not understanding."
The housing authority coordinates with community agencies, businesses and local governments to provide programs and resources for public housing residents that encourage self-sufficiency, self-esteem and self-determination.
Public housing tenants pay 30 percent of adjusted family income in rent. All utilities are paid by the housing authority.
by CNB