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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (149748)	11/12/2010 10:23:25 AM
From: epicure	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541627

Cool I'm for it. Make it so.

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (149748)	11/12/2010 10:24:05 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 541627

Socialism has been on the rise in the red states since the last election. Birmingham seeks grant to raze Loveman Village, build mixed-income apartments Published: Tuesday, November 09, 2010 Jeremy Gray -- The Birmingham News First, downtown's notorious Metropolitan Gardens was bulldozed to make way for the Park Place apartments and town houses. Then the Tuxedo Court public housing complex in Ensley was torn down and replaced by a new neighborhood called Tuxedo Terrace. Now city housing officials want to transform the 58-year-old Loveman Village with Birmingham's third effort to replace barracks-like public housing with a mixed-income neighborhood tentatively called Westwood Green. The Birmingham Housing Authority on Monday voted to apply for $22 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to make the Titusville complex the city's third Hope VI project since 2002. North Titusville neighborhood president John Harris said residents would welcome a replacement for Loveman Village. "Loveman is sitting there dying on the vine," Harris said. "It's a blight in our neighborhood." Hope VI seeks to replace distressed public housing through partnerships with local governments, nonprofit organizations and private businesses, according to HUD's website. With such partnerships, Westwood Green would represent a $54 million investment, said James Brooks of The Boulevard Group. The Boulevard Group manages Tuxedo Terrace and was contracted to submit proposals for the new development. Birmingham City Councilwoman Carole Smitherman, whose district includes Titusville, said she will ask the City Council during today's meeting to commit $9 million to the project over the course of five years. An ideal candidate A Hope VI development would complement new homes and restaurants, as well as plans for a sports rehab center across from Memorial Park and the expansion of nearby Princeton Baptist Medical Center, she said. "We've had two successful Hope VI developments, and we think this could be the third," Smitherman said. Brooks said Loveman Village, which recently underwent renovations and lead paint removal, was an ideal Hope VI candidate because it is near the newly built Washington K-8 School and Princeton Baptist. The housing authority is discussing a partnership with Princeton to provide jobs and health and wellness programs to residents, Brooks said. Brooks said Birmingham faces stiff competition, but benefits from having two other Hope VI developments. HUD, which must have the Loveman Village application by Nov. 22, has $124 million available for all Hope VI developments nationwide. "We can't predict it will win, but we know it will be a competitive application," Brooks said. Brooks said the housing authority should know with-in four months if it will receive the funds and must have the development built within four years of receiving the money. The board on Monday appointed the Atlanta-based Columbia Residential to develop Westwood Green. The terms of a contract with Columbia have yet to be negotiated, said housing authority Executive Director Naomi Truman. Current plans call for replacing the 500-unit complex -- which Truman said is half empty -- with 280 units, some of which would be available for purchase. Residents will have to be relocated before demolition. Truman said she doubts there would be too few units in the new development to accommodate all current residents. "That possibility is there, but sometimes people don't want to come back," Truman said. Residents respond Residents on Monday said they've been pleased with recent renovations, and crime in the area is not as bad as in the past. But crime is still a reality. Michael Hall, 49, was fatally beaten and shot Aug. 19 after riding a bike from his Loveman Village home to a nearby store. Crystal Johnson, a 30-year-old mother of three who moved back in September after leaving Loveman Village eight years ago, said although things are better, she doesn't let her children wander alone. "I take them to the park myself, because too many people just let their kids roam and do whatever," Johnson said. Johnson questioned why the housing authority wants to tear down the apartments after renovating them. "Are they going to demolish them with new cabinets? It seems like a waste of money," Johnson said. Truman said until residents are relocated, the units need to be kept in good condition. "We want it to be safe, decent and sanitary," Truman said. Housing officials will discuss the plan at a meeting tonight at 5 at the Loveman Village Community Center at 300 First Ave. SW. Plans to redevelop Loveman Village have been discussed since April 2009, when then-Mayor Larry Langford -- who grew up in the complex -- proposed replacing the apartments with condos. That proposal came after the housing authority rejected a similar plan Langford had for its Southtown complex near the University of Alabama at Birmingham. blog.al.com