THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 9, 1996 TAG: 9610090390
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BATTINTO BATTS JR., STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 60 lines
Brenda Martin wishes there were better windows and a way to control the heat in her apartment in the Ida Barbour public housing complex.
After 15 years in Ida Barbour, Martin would like to move. But she's afraid she can't afford it.
The federal government gave hope to Martin and other Ida Barbour residents on Tuesday, awarding a $6.2 million grant to Portsmouth that would enable people to move from the complex into federally subsidized housing elsewhere in the city.
The money is part of a $716 million aid package announced Tuesday by U.S. Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros. The funds, awarded to 74 cities, will help demolish, upgrade or rebuild substandard public housing units or allow residents to move to other housing.
It is the second time in less than a week that Portsmouth has been awarded federal money to improve its public housing complexes. Last Friday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development gave the city $475,000 to help remove drugs and crime from the complexes.
The grant for Ida Barbour came on the same day the City Council held a public hearing to discuss the city's proposed Community Development Action Plan for 1997.
The plan includes demolition of blighted buildings and relocation of owners and tenants in Ida Barbour. It also calls for acquiring property for affordable housing in the Brighton, Crawford, Park View and Prentis Park neighborhoods and in Hattonsville for small business development.
Several city residents as well as community and civic leaders Tuesday expressed support for the plan, while others asked the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority's board members to fund more projects.
The City Council will vote on the plan at its meeting next Tuesday.
City officials say the grant and the action plan are signs that Portsmouth is turning the corner in its revitalization efforts.
``We are delighted to receive a grant to improve the city,'' Mayor James W. Holley III said. ``We have had a number of projects that have been underfunded. Normally, problems like this would be solved with real estate taxes. But that has not been the case in recent years because of a lack of economic development.''
City officials applied for the HUD grant last month, said Hal Short, PRHA director of operations.
Ida Barbour, built in the mid-1950s, is the largest of Portsmouth's six public housing complexes. City officials are concerned about lead and asbestos levels in many of the apartments, Short said.
It could cost nearly $40 million to renovate all 600 units in the complex, he estimated. If some of the residents chose to live elsewhere, it would reduce the number of apartments that need renovating in addition to the overall cost.
Martin, who is a member of a community group that will help the city develop a plan for Ida Barbour, said many people may choose to remain or return to the complex.
``If they are going to tear down and rebuild, and I have the option of coming back, I would come back,'' said Martin, who lives with her 16-year-old son.``It feels like home here.''
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH PUBLIC HOUSING GRANT HUD by CNB