Housing Authority of Savannah

 

Winter 2013 CNI Newsletter (pdf)

 

The Housing Authority of Savannah is a FY 2011 Choice Neighborhood Initiative Planning Grantee and in the process of developing a Transformation Plan for the East Savannah Gateway.

Monthly Taskforce meetings are ongoing in the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Planning Grant process in the areas of Housing, People and Neighborhood. All meetings take place at 1407 Wheaton Street. The next meetings are as follows:

 

HOUSING TASKFORCE MEETING
Thursday, May 9th @ 9:00 AM
1407 Wheaton Street

NEIGHBORHOOD TASKFORCE MEETING
Economic Development Sub-Group – Wednesday, May 8th @ 9:00 AM
City of Savannah Entrepreneurial Center, 801 E. Gwinnett Street

PEOPLE TASKFORCE MEETING
Nothing scheduled at this time.

 

 

ABOUT THE CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS INITIATIVE
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has used appropriations from the HOPE VI program to launch a new initiative called Choice Neighborhoods, which was authorized for $65 million in Fiscal Year 2010; $250 million has been requested for fiscal year 2011. The program includes two rounds of funding for planning and implementation grants.
The Choice Neighborhoods initiative will transform distressed neighborhoods and public and assisted projects into viable and sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements with appropriate services, schools, public assets, transportation, and access to jobs. A strong emphasis will be placed on local community planning for access to high-quality educational opportunities, including early childhood education. Choice Neighborhoods grants will build upon the successes of public housing transformation under HOPE VI to provide support for the preservation and rehabilitation of public and HUD-assisted housing, within the context of a broader approach to concentrated poverty. In addition to public housing authorities, the initiative will involve local governments, non-profits, and for-profit developers in undertaking comprehensive local planning with residents and the community.
Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants support the development of comprehensive neighborhood transformation plans which focus on directing resources to address three core goals:

• Housing: Transform distressed public and assisted housing into energy efficient, mixed-income housing that is physically and financially viable over the long-term;

• People: Support positive outcomes for families who live in the target

development(s) and the surrounding neighborhood, particularly outcomes related to residents’ health, safety, employment, mobility, and education; and

• Neighborhood: Transform neighborhoods of poverty into viable, mixed-income neighborhoods with access to well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.

 

To achieve these core goals, communities must develop and implement a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation Plan. The Transformation Plan will become the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or assisted housing units while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families.

2011 CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS PLANNING GRANT AWARDEE
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced in January that 13 communities had been awarded $3.6 million in Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants. The Housing Authority of Savannah is thrilled to be one of these 13 communities with a planning grant award of $300,000.
 “All across the country, local planners are serious about rolling up their sleeves to transform distressed neighborhoods into choice neighborhoods,” said Donovan.   “These communities can now begin the comprehensive planning needed to turn distressed housing and long-neglected neighborhoods into viable and sustainable mixed-income communities that support positive outcome for families.”
HUD received 71 submissions for FY 2011 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants from communities across the U.S.  As a successful applicant, the Housing Authority of Savannah demonstrated its intent to transform neighborhoods while leveraging outside investments and other federal dollars to plan for high-quality public schools, outstanding education and early learning programs, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs and well-functioning services.

THE EAST SAVANNAH GATEWAY TRANSFORMATION PLAN
The 2011 Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Planning Grant awarded will support the development of a comprehensive neighborhood transformation plan, in a target area along the Wheaton Street Corridor, identified now as The East Savannah Gateway. The plan will transform Robert Hitch Village and Fred Wessels Homes, and the surrounding area along the Wheaton Street Corridor. Constructed and opened in 1955, Robert Hitch Village, with a total of 337 public housing units, was one of the Housing Authority of Savannah’s oldest neighborhoods when it was demolished in 2010. A stimulus grant secured under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funded the demolition, along with an extensive energy-efficiency renovation of neighboring Fred Wessels Homes, which includes 250 public housing units.

With the use of the CNI grant, the Housing Authority of Savannah, along with key stakeholders, who have shown incredible support and commitment, will develop a transformation plan that will be used to change the lives of public housing residents and families in the surrounding community.

Working with its key partners, HAS will commit $300,000 in Housing Authority net unrestricted assets, in combination with $569,684 in-kind funding from a diverse group of partners, to create a viable and implementable plan that will address housing, people, and their neighborhood. Working with its partners, the Housing Authority will develop this comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy into a guiding document for the redevelopment of these two public housing communities, and the surrounding area along the Wheaton Street Corridor.

This transformation will continue the positive trends like the City-led major redevelopment of the Savannah Gardens area, the County’s total mobility plan for non-motorized transit options and the streetcar proposed for Wheaton Street and Waters Avenue.

The development of the Transformation Plan, along with the leveraged funding, will be used over a two-year planning period and directed toward creating a workable and implementable plan that will create a sustainable, mixed-finance neighborhood with safe streets, good schools, accessible transportation, and training as a means to jobs.

 

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF SAVANNAH:  2012 CHOICE NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING GRANT RECIPIENT

 

The Housing Authority of Savannah is one of only thirteen public housing authorities across the nation to the receive a Choice Neighborhood Initiative Planning Grant. The FY 2011 CNI Planning Grant awarded to the Housing Authority of Savannah, during January, will support the development of a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plan, which will transform Robert Hitch Village and Fred Wessels Homes, and the surrounding area along the Wheaton Street Corridor. Constructed and opened in 1955, Robert Hitch Village, with a total of 337 public housing units, was one of the Housing Authority of Savannah’s oldest neighborhoods when it was demolished in 2010. A stimulus grant secured under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funded the demolition, along with an extensive energy-efficiency renovation of neighboring Fred Wessels Homes, which includes 250 public housing units.

With the use of the CNI grant, the Housing Authority of Savannah, along with key stakeholders, who have shown incredible support and commitment, will develop a transformation plan that will be used to change the lives of public housing residents and families in the surrounding community.

Working with its key partners, HAS will commit $300,000 in Housing Authority net unrestricted assets, in combination with $569,684 in-kind funding from a diverse group of partners, to create a viable and implementable plan that will address housing, people, and their neighborhood. These partners include the City of Savannah, Savannah State University, Savannah-Chatham Public School System, Chatham Area Transit, Metropolitan Planning Commission, Trident Sustainability Group, CHSA Development, Inc., United Community Bank, and The Savannah Bank. Working with its partners, the Housing Authority will develop this comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy into a guiding document for the redevelopment of these two public housing communities, and the surrounding area along the Wheaton Street Corridor.

This transformation will continue the positive trends like the City-led major redevelopment of the Savannah Gardens area, the County’s total mobility plan for non-motorized transit options and the streetcar proposed for Wheaton Street and Waters Avenue.

The development of the Transformation Plan, along with the leveraged funding, will be used over a two-year planning period and directed toward creating a workable and implementable plan that will create a sustainable, mixed-finance neighborhood with safe streets, good schools, accessible transportation, and training as a means to jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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