Housing Authority purchase 4 SE apartment complexes (Huntsville, Madison: rentals, low crime, lawyers)

[Charles]

Originally Posted by mm42

in completely different school districts.

Just a nit...

Same school district, Huntsville City Schools
Hampton Cove is served by Hampton Cove Elementary, Hampton Cove Middle, and Huntsville High School.

Here are the Huntsville City School attendance boundary maps:

http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/schools/maps.php

[mm42]

Originally Posted by Charles

Just a nit...

Same school district, Huntsville City Schools
Hampton Cove is served by Hampton Cove Elementary, Hampton Cove Middle, and Huntsville High School.

Here are the Huntsville City School attendance boundary maps:

Huntsville City Schools

So does your wit in pointing out this nit make you a nit wit?

In case anyone else had trouble understanding my meaning, SE Huntsville where the public housing is going is in different school ZONES from Hampton Cove.

[Reactionary]

mm42 - The HHA report states that some planned housing acquisition is "specifically in the downtown Medical District". That area is zoned for Huntsville High. The controversial housing purchased so far is zoned Chaffee / Whitesburg / Grissom and Weatherly / Mountain Gap / Grissom (I think).

However, the HHA is not buying just apartment complexes - they are buying houses / condo units too (IIRC up to ~$200K price). Hampton Cove is not immune.

[macwell]

fyi.....Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 308 Fountain Circle.


Huntsville City Council invites housing authority officials to discuss
long-range plans at tonight's meeting
Posted by John Peck April 16, 2009 6:27 AM

Huntsville City Council invites housing authority officials to discuss long-range plans at tonight's meeting - Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com

City Council President Mark RussellHUNTSVILLE, AL -- City council members hope to hear the Huntsville Housing Authority's long-range plans for public housing during tonight's council meeting.

City leaders say they don't want a repeat of last week's Chaffee Elementary meeting, where residents loudly protested the authority's moving of public housing into south Huntsville.

Council President Mark Russell said the meeting is an opportunity for the council and public to learn what the authority is trying to accomplish by scattering public housing across the city.

"I'm sure the council will ask questions, and the public may have some input," Russell said. "There won't be a debate or dialogue back and forth."

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 308 Fountain Circle.

[mm42]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

mm42 - The HHA report states that some planned housing acquisition is "specifically in the downtown Medical District". That area is zoned for Huntsville High.

Even if they do, Councill Courts is ALREADY IN the Huntsville High zone.

As for future purchases, sure. They could buy in the Hampton Cove area in the future. I was referring to the purchases made so far.

[macwell]

ok, I understand the Grissom and Hampton Cove areas serve different SE districts. My thoughts were not entirely based on the current purchases in the Grissom areas.

More about HHA going forward for the future, based on what has been printed. There are several articles that HHA will be purchasing homes not just apartments. They are also receiving additional funds from the gov. through additional stimulus programs currently being developed and implemented. There are also funds coming up so foreclosures can be purchased in the same way.

This same action can occur in Hampton Cove and Jones Valley, just as it's happening in the SE Grissom area. As far as the mountain that separates Grissom and Hampton Cove area, the last time I checked, there was a road that goes over the mountain. It’s called busing, for those who are not able to purchase a car for such a drive. The city can just include Hampton Cove for its busing service.

If anyone would have said 6-12 months ago that the HHA was going to purchase and move to the SE Grissom area, they would have been called idiots. Never say never.

I listed a few links below that provide information concerning the funds that are starting to pour in for the HHA to provide such purchasing of homes.


Huntsville Housing Authority receives $4 million to improve public housing
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Housing Authority to get $4M from stimulus bill - al.com


Half of housing grants used to buy foreclosures
4/10/2009, 11:38 a.m. CDT
Half of housing grants used to buy foreclosures - NewsFlash - al.com


Bill would help boost housing for poor
Wednesday, April 01, 2009 By BOB LOWRY
Bill would help boost housing for poor - al.com


Foreclosures jump by 80 percent in Huntsville during first quarter
Posted by Gina Hannah April 16, 2009 7:03 AM
Foreclosures jump by 80 percent in Huntsville during first quarter - Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com

[friday13]

Originally Posted by macwell

Foreclosures jump by 80 percent in Huntsville during first quarter
Posted by Gina Hannah April 16, 2009 7:03 AM
Foreclosures jump by 80 percent in Huntsville during first quarter - Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com

Saw this headline in the morning paper, and made me sigh (again): "oh, well, too bad all these foreclosures won't be purchased in the same (high) percentage by private citizens...I've started a thread while ago, asking why the banks are holding on to the high price of foreclosed properties... it makes sense now: all this while the banks were waiting for a bigger fish to fry -the moula coming from HHA-in the end it's the taxpayer (myself included) that got "fried". Fool me once, fool me twice...

[Reactionary]

I attended the City Council meeting. Quicklook:

No more housing projects in South Huntsville. Councilwoman Sandra Moon made it clear that the HHA Board had assured her that there will be no more apartment purchases in South Huntsville. HHA Director Lundy reiterated that point saying “HHA has no intentions of purchasing apartment complexes in Southeast or Southwest Huntsville”.

Section 8 housing is OK. It seems that a consensus of the City Government, HHA, and concerned citizens believe that vouchers and development (escrow) accounts are an acceptable approach to public housing in Huntsville.

The Medical District housing development is the ‘Gateway Place’ Senior Center, which will be built on the site of Councill Court.

I hope y'all don't mind if I link to myself, more at Flashpoint (http://www.flashpointblog.com/2009/04/17/wed-all-be-sleeping-together/ - broken link).

[macwell]

fyi...

Huntsville City Council - 16 April 2009
Huntsville City Council - 16 April 2009 | flashpoint (http://www.flashpointblog.com/2009/04/19/huntsville-city-council-16-april-2009/ - broken link)

He also said that HHA planned to buy about 20 to 25 single family
houses in South Huntsville.

HHA paid $3,000,000 for the Stone Manor property ($60,000 per unit but Stone
Manor also includes about 2 1/2 acres of undeveloped woodland).

[macwell]

Thanks Reactionary for the information. I really found your post today on flashpoint very informative.

It seems to me HHA continues to talk out of both sides of their mouth. They speak conflicting information...
1- we do not plan to saturate SE
2- we plan to spread it out through the city of Huntsville
3- 5 year plan spells out SE area specifically
4- He says for the time 'right now' we are not purchasing more apartments in SE.

However, the recent information you posted, it appears they do plan to purchase more in SE, its just defined as 'houses' instead of 'apartments'.

So question...
1- How is he defining SE? Southeast covers Jones Valley, Hampton Cove, and the Grissom Areas. So this could be in all the above areas.

2- How many housing projects can you build on the 2-1/2 acres they also purchased, that’s a lot of land for public housing or I mean more 'apartments'.

It just seems to me they have a plan to turn the SE Grissom area side into another inner city like the North areas. As for Hampton Cove, I would not think it can escape from such a plan. At best, who wants to come over and shop in SE once it becomes a new inner city area.

I think the entire thing is sad, they are on the path to basically making Huntsville an inner city environment and ruin all the communities attached to it. The biggest thing Hampton Cove has going wrong for them is the Four Mile post road over the mountain, the road makes it easy for the city to make busing and transportation accessible to public housing in their neighborhoods. It sure looks like the
federal gov. will be sending them plenty of money for such agendas.

Thanks again Reactionary, please keep us updated to your current findings on this one. My thoughts are the HHA will let things 'cool off' and then start buying up the property under the radar. Then people will look around one day and ask what happened to their schools and neighborhoods.

thx!

Huntsville City Council - 16 April 2009
Huntsville City Council - 16 April 2009 | flashpoint (http://www.flashpointblog.com/2009/04/19/huntsville-city-council-16-april-2009/ - broken link)

Lundy said that many current residents of Chaffee were probably eligible for
public housing. He also said that HHA planned to buy about 20 to 25 single family
houses in South Huntsville.

HHA paid $3,000,000 for the Stone Manor property ($60,000 per unit but Stone
Manor also includes about 2 1/2 acres of undeveloped woodland).


++Note, I can see more federal money going to HHA for foreclosed homes in
Huntsville. Looks like this will be happening nationwide.

Foreclosed Homes For Public Housing
New Bedford heralds a housing plan which likely will be applied
nationwide -- convert foreclosed houses into affordable housing
for low-income families. Houses will be upgraded before families
03/20/2009 12:13 PM


NEW BEDFORD - Amid boarded-up and abandoned buildings in this Southeastern Massachusetts city,
government officials and housing advocates yesterday unveiled a program to reclaim foreclosed properties and turn them into affordable housing. Citizen's Housing and Planning Association Inc., a nonprofit housing agency, will operate a clearinghouse to help community organizations purchase foreclosed homes and upgrade them for
low- and moderate-income families.
Mass. plans to turn foreclosures into affordable housing - The Boston Globe