DATE: Saturday, August 30, 1997             TAG: 9708300408

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER 

SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   30 lines

REPLACEMENT HOUSING FOR IDA BARBOUR DUE TO BE NATIONAL MODEL

Jacquail Mayes may see her dream come true.

Over the next five years, Ida Barbour Housing Park will be demolished and replaced by a new community that is expected to be a national model for projects aimed at moving people from welfare to work.

The estimated cost of the total project is about $59 million. That figure includes the cost of training, child care and transportation to enable residents to get jobs.

About half the money will come from state and local sources, and half from the federal government. The local contribution will include training and counseling provided by local schools, churches, city agencies and other organizations.

The housing park as it exists today has 663 apartments built in 1955 on 41 acres of land in the middle of the city. The population of about 1,400 in the park includes hundreds of young children. Hundreds of elderly persons also live in the project.

The demolition will take place in phases, with new housing built before the old housing is destroyed. The new housing will include 365 single-family units. Some will be rental units, and many will be available under a rent-to-own plan. MEMO: Main story on page B1.

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