Columbus, Georgia

Background to the HOPE VI Program:



HOPE VI is a program created by Congress and administered by HUD to provide

revitalization grants to assist public housing agencies to:



Improve the living conditions for public housing residents of severely

distressed public housing projects through the demolition, rehabilitation,

reconfiguration or replacement of obsolete public housing projects;



Revitalize sites on which such public housing projects are located and

contribute to the improvement of the surrounding neighborhood;



Provide housing that will decrease the concentration of very low income

families; and



Build sustainable communities.





For Fiscal year 2002 approximately $492.5 million is available for

revitalization grants, with the maximum grant award being $20 million.

Applications are due at HUD Headquarters in Washington D.C. on November 29,

2002. This is a competitive process in which all applications are scored

against a set of standard criteria, with the highest scoring applications

receiving funding. In FY 2001 66 grant applications were submitted and 16

cities were awarded grants totaling $491 million. With the maximum grant award

of $20 million it is estimated that somewhere between 25 and 30 grants may be

awarded this year.



Eligible revitalization activities include the following:



Relocation for residents displaced as a result of the revitalization project



Demolition of dwelling units and non-dwelling facilities



Disposition of a severely distressed public housing site in whole or part, by

sale or lease



Rehabilitation and physical improvement of public housing and community

facilities



Development for standard public housing and for mixed-finance housing

development



Construction of new community facilities to serve residents of the project



Homeownership public housing replacement units Acquisition of rental units,

land for off-site replacement units, land for economic development-related

activities specifically to promote economic self-sufficiency of residents



Management improvements



Costs for planning, architectural, and other technical assistance



Community and supportive services





GEORGE FOSTER PEABODY APARTMENTS:



Beginning in April 2002 HACG began an assessment of the prospects for

submitting a HOPE VI grant application for George Foster Peabody Apartments.

George Foster Peabody Apartments (GFP) is a 1940?s HACG public housing

development of 510 units, located approximately two miles northeast of downtown

Columbus. There are 1,150 persons living at Peabody.



Built in two phases, the GFP site was assembled, land cleared and streets

closed to create a single 23 acre parcel yielding a density over 22 units per

acre. The resulting site design, street alignment and building configuration

effectively separate this housing community from the surrounding

neighborhoods. Site flooding, structural and systems deficiencies, antiquated

heating systems, pervasive roof problems and a failing sewer and storm water

system, along with substantial fundamental site and building design

deficiencies indicate that GFP will meet the HUD criteria for ?severely

distressed? public housing.



This currently distressed site has many attributes that suggest it is an

excellent HOPE VI site. It is in close proximity to downtown Columbus, near

critical public services and located at the center point of a potentially

mixed-use development corridor (along proposed widening of Talbotton Road) that

will be served by a planned cross-town trolley system. The site is next door

to the Columbus Medical Center complex and within easy reach of the largest

employer in the area, Total System Services.



OUTCOME:



Based on the scoring criteria, and previous HOPE VI grants, the plan for the

revitalization of GFP will likely be focused on the creation of a mixed-income,

mixed-finance community which will include both rental and home ownership

units. The probable mix of units will be: approximately 1/3 public housing

replacement unis, 1/3 affordable housing units and 1/3 market rate housing

units. The total development may include approximately 500 housing units,

although this number may change as more specific physical and financial plans

are developed over the next month. The development may also include a

commercial component should that prove advantageous.



NEXT STEPS:



Since April 2002 HACG has been working, and continues to work toward the

preparation of the grant application. Key next steps in the process include:



Procurement of a developer(s) for the revitalization of GFP ? this is a

requirement of the grant application evaluation criteria



Procurement of a ?Program Manager? to assist HACG in the implementation of the

HOPE VI revitalization



Initiation of a planning process with the residents of GFP and community

stakeholders that will result in the preliminary plan to be submitted with the

grant application



Begin discussions with potential ?partners? in the grant application





CITY PARTICIPATION:



The successful grant application for GFP will require addressing the many

evaluation criteria prescribed by HUD for the grant application. One of the

most important criteria is the identification of "leverage?. Leverage

?consists of firm commitments of funds and other resources? that are in

addition to the grant from HUD. This year HUD is looking for successful grant

applications to have 3 times the grant amount in other committed funds. Such

funds include: Loans and other debt for rental and homeownership, donations and

contributions, funds committed to build private sector housing in connection

with the revitalization, tax exempt bonds, other federal funds including CDBG,

low income housing tax credits.



In most HOPE VI grant applications the City is a major participant in funding

the revitalization activities. A key area of city funding is often for

infrastructure improvements, which can be a major component of the cost to

revitalize the severely distressed sites. While an estimate of the costs of

infrastructure improvements has not yet been undertaken for GFP, it is

anticipated that significant investment will be required to bring the systems

up to present standards and provide the capacity for new development on the

site. HACG will be preparing conceptual site development plans, and

preliminary estimates of infrastructure costs over the next month, at which

time additional information will be brought back to Council for further

consideration. Experience with similar sized HOPE VI developments indicate

that the City may anticipate financial participation of an amount up to

$9,000,000. The commitment of City funds must be defined in a ?commitment

document? which will likely take the form of a council resolution. In

addition, as the physical and financial plans evolve HACG will be actively

seeking participation from other funding sources. HACG has met with several

developers who have indicated an interest in participating in this development.

The overall key to successful funding is to secure the broadest possible

participation from numerous sources.