Sunday, February 28, 1999
Housing agency proceeds with plan
Demolition in West End starts in April
BY MARK CURNUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority continues to move toward meeting federal policy mandates that require it to reduce its housing numbers, diversify its population and depend more on its renters to pay its bills.
Demolition of Phase I of CMHA's Lincoln Court apartments in the West End will begin in April; 27 buildings, containing 426 apartment units, will be leveled in the area surrounded by Clark, Cutter, Court and Linn streets.
Demolition of buildings in this area should be completed by late fall, and construction of a smaller, mixed-income development should begin early next year, CMHA spokeswoman Sherry English said Friday.
The demolition and construction are part of West End renewal plans announced in June. CMHA has not rented any apartments in Phase I since it received a $31.1 million federal “Hope VI” grant in August.
The grant pays for about half of the $62 million plan. The city has already put $6.2 million toward the project. The rest is expected to come from tax credits, bank loans and other sources.
Since Dec. 1, CMHA has paid to pack, move and reconnect utilities for an estimated 90 households in the area to be demolished, Ms. English said. Residents have chosen to move to the Phase I area of Lincoln Court (north of Clark Street), other CMHA proper ties of Section 8 housing.
The plan calls for demolition of all 53 buildings at Lincoln Court and moving about 2,000 people out of their homes. The plan also reduces the number of housing units, from 886 to about 500. Lincoln Court was the city's largest single housing complex for low-income families.
Most new apartments will be public housing, but others will be free-market rents and homes that can be owned. CMHA has provided written assurances to all Lincoln Court residents that once construction is completed, they can stay if they choose. Residents who move will be given federal housing vouchers for their rent.
The CMHA has strong support from Cincinnati City Council, various city housing groups and the Lincoln Court Resident Council. But the moves have been opposed by several West End neighborhood groups and some Lincoln Court residents, who think the plan will break up their poor, black community and let developers take over the West End.
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