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Saturday,
November 10, 2007
By David
McGee
BRISTOL, Va. – A preliminary report suggests the city’s public housing
structures need $30 million worth of long-term improvements.
The Bristol Virginia Redevelopment and Housing
Authority staff recently conducted a needs assessment that calls for the
replacement of windows, doors, plumbing, roofs, cabinets and installation of
some type of forced-air heating and air-conditioning system to replace electric
baseboard heat.
"The improvements are needed to make our
units viable for the next 20 years," said Executive Director Dave Baldwin.
"We have some immediate needs and others that occur over a period of time
as the units continue to age."
The report, which is expected to be finalized next
month, includes all six of the city’s public housing facilities.
"Our oldest units – Rice Terrace and Johnson Court – are
both 67 years old. And our youngest units are more than 30 years old," Baldwin said.
Mayor Jim Rector said Friday he is aware of the
study and believes it’s needed.
"I think that’s the appropriate action to
take with the housing situation the way it is," Rector said. "The
housing authority board has got to have a long-range plan for these types of
capital improvements."
All 401 of the authority’s public units are
occupied and 123 families are on a waiting list.
The authority expects to hire a consultant to help
prioritize needs and seek resources to pay for the work, Baldwin
said.
"We need help figuring out what our approach
should be at some of our sites," he said. "It could be that it’s more
affordable to renovate some sites, and it may be more affordable to tear some
down and build back something else."
Either way, redevelopment will be a lengthy
process, Baldwin said.
Officials said they would like to complete all the
work in five years, but it will likely take at least 10.
"As we work with this consultant to develop
our master plan, it’s probably going to take 18 months after we identify that
first project before we can get the resources together," Baldwin
said. "The problem is we don’t have adequate capital funds to do the
repairs that are needed."
The money will likely include a combination of tax
credits, government grants and low-interest loans, he said.
http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2007-11-10-0009.html
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