Rhiannon Meyers. Galveston County Daily News. December 10, 2008
GALVESTON — Among six options for the future of Galveston’s public housing, renovating four hurricane-damaged federal projects would cost the most per square foot, take the longest and present the most obstacles, housing authority documents show.
Four public housing projects — Cedar Terrace, Palm Terrace, Oleander Homes and Magnolia Homes — remain closed after they were flooded by Hurricane Ike on Sept. 13. Renovating them would cost more per square foot than new construction and would take five to 10 years to finish, said Harish Krishnarao, executive director of the Galveston Housing Authority.
Renovating condemned public housing apartments, now dotted with mold, also could cause serious health problems for residents, especially those with asthma, he said.
The existing housing projects also are poorly designed, and children who live there are often stigmatized as “poor students,” Krishnarao said. The projects, where more than 580 families lived before the storm, concentrate poverty north of Broadway and are vulnerable to flooding again when the next hurricane strikes.
The other options raised fewer obstacles, according documents created to help the authority’s governing board decide what to do.
Upside To Building New
Those options included demolishing and rebuilding public housing, buying up new apartments and condos to house low-income residents, buying up existing apartments and rebuilding them for low-income residents or issuing all public housing residents Section 8 vouchers to live in homes.
Building new developments would cost $40.8 million to $247.8 million but still would cost less per square foot than renovating the existing units and could be built with federal dollars and low-income tax credits, Krishnarao said. New units, which could better match the island’s architecture, do not pose a health risk and could be made to withstand future hurricanes, he said.
Building mixed-income developments helps disperse low-income residents throughout the city, Krishnarao said.
Some former residents of the housing projects and advocates for Galveston’s poor said Tuesday they supported rebuilding low-income developments instead of renovating the existing housing projects.
“I think you guys have demonstrated some excellent plans and ideas,” said Curt Gillins, owner of Y’a Bon Village Coffeehouse. “The citizens of Galveston should think outside the box and don’t be afraid of change.”
‘Bring Residents Home’
Jacqueline Williams, a housing authority case manager and a former resident of the Palm Terrace housing project that was torn down to make room for The Oaks, a Galveston neighborhood of 40 single-family homes, said she supported building new housing projects.
“We want to bring (residents) home, but we want them to be in a good safe and healthy environment,” she said.
Tarris Woods, a city councilman who represents the city on the housing authority board, said the authority must be wary of gentrification if board members do decide to rebuild and scatter public housing across the island.
New public housing should include enough units for everyone who was displaced, Woods said.
“If you take away 206 units, I want 206 units back,” he said.
The housing authority will poll residents displaced from the four condemned housing projects before the board makes a decision, Krishnarao said.
No Opinion
Steve McIntyre, an attorney with Lone Star Legal Aid, said it appeared from the presentation that the housing authority did not want to renovate the existing projects.
Krishnarao said he does not have an opinion on the best option for public housing and that the housing authority board will make the final decision.
“All I do is follow what the board wants,” he saidBuilding new public housing may cost less. Rhiannon Meyers. Galveston County Daily News. December 10, 2008GALVESTON — Among six options for the future of Galveston’s public housing, renovating four hurricane-damaged federal projects would cost the most per square foot, take the longest and present the most obstacles, housing authority documents show.
Four public housing projects — Cedar Terrace, Palm Terrace, Oleander Homes and Magnolia Homes — remain closed after they were flooded by Hurricane Ike on Sept. 13. Renovating them would cost more per square foot than new construction and would take five to 10 years to finish, said Harish Krishnarao, executive director of the Galveston Housing Authority.
Renovating condemned public housing apartments, now dotted with mold, also could cause serious health problems for residents, especially those with asthma, he said.
The existing housing projects also are poorly designed, and children who live there are often stigmatized as “poor students,” Krishnarao said. The projects, where more than 580 families lived before the storm, concentrate poverty north of Broadway and are vulnerable to flooding again when the next hurricane strikes.
The other options raised fewer obstacles, according documents created to help the authority’s governing board decide what to do.
Upside To Building New
Those options included demolishing and rebuilding public housing, buying up new apartments and condos to house low-income residents, buying up existing apartments and rebuilding them for low-income residents or issuing all public housing residents Section 8 vouchers to live in homes.
Building new developments would cost $40.8 million to $247.8 million but still would cost less per square foot than renovating the existing units and could be built with federal dollars and low-income tax credits, Krishnarao said. New units, which could better match the island’s architecture, do not pose a health risk and could be made to withstand future hurricanes, he said.
Building mixed-income developments helps disperse low-income residents throughout the city, Krishnarao said.
Some former residents of the housing projects and advocates for Galveston’s poor said Tuesday they supported rebuilding low-income developments instead of renovating the existing housing projects.
“I think you guys have demonstrated some excellent plans and ideas,” said Curt Gillins, owner of Y’a Bon Village Coffeehouse. “The citizens of Galveston should think outside the box and don’t be afraid of change.”
‘Bring Residents Home’
Jacqueline Williams, a housing authority case manager and a former resident of the Palm Terrace housing project that was torn down to make room for The Oaks, a Galveston neighborhood of 40 single-family homes, said she supported building new housing projects.
“We want to bring (residents) home, but we want them to be in a good safe and healthy environment,” she said.
Tarris Woods, a city councilman who represents the city on the housing authority board, said the authority must be wary of gentrification if board members do decide to rebuild and scatter public housing across the island.
New public housing should include enough units for everyone who was displaced, Woods said.
“If you take away 206 units, I want 206 units back,” he said.
The housing authority will poll residents displaced from the four condemned housing projects before the board makes a decision, Krishnarao said.
No Opinion
Steve McIntyre, an attorney with Lone Star Legal Aid, said it appeared from the presentation that the housing authority did not want to renovate the existing projects.
Krishnarao said he does not have an opinion on the best option for public housing and that the housing authority board will make the final decision.
“All I do is follow what the board wants,” he said.
Stephen C. McIntyre 