Friday, March 14, 2003

Red Oak receives revitalization grant

The Housing Authority of Fulton County (HAFC) has won a $17 million grant from HUD to revitalize South Fulton County's Red Oak community with new housing and services.

The HAFC, which manages public housing in unincorporated Fulton, is one of only two agencies in Georgia and 28 nationwide to receive a HOPE VI grant from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The $17,191,544 grant will help implement a 3-part plan created with input from area residents and business owners:

Replacing Red Oak Townhomes on Campbell Drive with mixed-income housing.

Upgrading the Azalea Manor apartments nearby on Washington Road.

Acquiring wooded land next to the properties for a community village with recreation areas, resident-owned stores, and programs that foster self-sufficiency.

The HAFC is using the grant to leverage an additional $22 million in public and private funds.

"The Authority and community have worked very hard for this day and we can now move forward," said HAFC Executive Director Bettye A. Davis. "This will help further our mission of providing homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families."

"The HOPE VI grant brings great promise for the future of all residents of the Red Oak community," said District 7 Commission Vice Chairman William "Bill" Edwards, who represents the area.

The HAFC conducted intensive support efforts for about five months to relocate residents from Red Oak Townhomes, which are now vacant and awaiting demolition.

HUD created the HOPE VI program, also known as the Urban Revitalization Demonstration, in 1992 after a National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing report found about 86,000 U.S. public housing units that needed revitalization.