ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority will spend $4 million in federal money to give the Lincoln Terrace public housing development the biggest upgrade of its 44-year history.
Called "Lincoln 2000," the $4 million project is an effort to revitalize one of Roanoke's oldest public housing developments.
"There is nothing ever to compare to what is being planned now," said Devona Springer, the housing authority's public information officer. "What we have now is going in and doing some major repairs all at once and including residents in the planning. It's not just repairs but addressing issues also."
Lincoln 2000 will include repairs and upgrades of residential buildings, creation of a warehouse, reconfiguration of streets, and repair of damaged sidewalks.
The housing authority hired MarshWitt Associates, a Roanoke architectural consulting company, to help it and Lincoln Terrace residents identify key issues and concerns. They will submit a community improvement plan to the housing authority's Board of Commissioners in May, Springer said.
Actual work may or may not begin this year, Springer said.
"We can always stand improvements," said Jackie Gunn, president of the Lincoln Terrace resident council, who has lived in the development 24 years. "We'd like better lighting, better maintenance of apartments, interior improvements. It's not like the apartments were left to deteriorate. But you always want to update what you've got."
The $4 million is "comprehensive grant" money that the housing authority received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Such grants are used in public housing communities for management improvements, physical improvements or extraordinary maintenance, such as roof repair, sidewalks, and heating and air conditioning, Springer said.
The housing authority receives an average of $2 million per year in grant money. And each year, the housing authority must account for how it plans to use that money - annually and over five years.
Revitalization of Lincoln Terrace - between Burrell Street and Interstate 581 in Northwest Roanoke - was added to the housing authority's five-year comprehensive grant plan about a year ago, Springer said. The development was built in 1952.
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