2000 Best Practice Awards
Program and Geographical Winners: Georgia
Best Practice: Atlanta Office of Counsel/HUD Headquarters
Closing Procedures for Public Housing Mixed Finance Developments
1255 Housing Units To Be Produced By Atlanta
Housing Authority
Atlanta.
Since May 1999, the Atlanta Office of Counsel has reviewed and approved
the legal documentation for five mixed-finance developments undertaken by
the Atlanta Housing Authority. These closings will produce 1,255 total housing
units, of which 571 will be public housing units. The Public Housing Mixed
Finance program is administered by HUDs Central Office, and usually,
the legal review necessary to close the transactions is performed by Office
of General Counsel attorneys in the central office. HUD field legal staff
support helped these mixed-finance developments to efficiently issue tax-exempt
bonds, secure tax credits, and meet other business deadlines. These financing
strategies help revitalize distressed public housing developments and their
neighborhoods, improve schools and community services, and increase supportive
services to public housing residents enabling them to become self-sufficient.
The developments relied on a partnership between government agencies, non-profit
organizations, and private business for a total investment of approximately
$130 million, which includes about $42 million in Public Housing funds,
$22 million from FHA and $66 million from other sources.
Contact: Dhoya Bentley, Phone: (404) 331-5001
Ext. 2020
Tracking Number: 2849
Winning Category: Program (Office of General Counsel)
Best Practice: Computer Learning for Elderly
Russian Residents
Computer Technology Teaches Elderly Russian
Resident English
Atlanta.
Computer training is taught twice a week for three hours to Russian residents
who live in a 100-unit elderly and disabled mid-rise in North Fulton County.
Using the computer, elderly Russian residents are being taught how to speak
English as a Second Language (ESL). This program creatively addresses a
language barrier issue by using technology to empower people and enable
a diverse community of elderly and disabled families to effectively communicate.
Before this program, none of the 14 Russians could speak conversational
English, but all had a strong desire to participate in resident association
activities. Since the programs initiation, they can actively participate
in the services and programs offered by the resident association. The entire
community benefits due to increased involvement of these residents in the
on-site activities and programs. HUD funds the equipment, administrative
costs of the resident association, and the labor expenses of the one ESL
teacher and computer lab instructor through the Tenant Opportunities Program.
Contact: Janet Verdier, Phone: (404) 843-0279
Tracking Number: 2803
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)
Best Practice: Disabled Dealer Magazine of
Georgia
Disabled Dealer Magazine Presents Issues that Affects the Disabled Population
Atlanta.
Disabled Dealer Magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to improving
the lives of the disabled, their friends and families and promoting public
awareness. It features houses that are handicap-accessible and articles
on conventions, seminars and other issues of special interest. The focus
is to help the disabled participate fully in society. For three years, the
magazine has collaborated with organizations to present a three-day international
conference, The World Congress & Exposition on Disabilities.
Contact: Cynthia Kimball, Phone: (770) 457-9851
Tracking Number: 1167
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)
Best Practice: Fair Housing Presentations by
Attorneys of the Office of General Counsel in Atlanta
Attorneys of the Office of General Counsel
in Atlanta Educates the Public by Disseminating Fair Housing Information
Atlanta.
Civil rights attorneys at the Office of General Counsel in Atlanta have
taken an active role in advancing fair housing by disseminating vital information
on a variety of fair housing issues at conferences, seminars, community
forums and training programs. Their audiences include individuals seeking
information about civil rights, industry and trade associations seeking
information about civil rights responsibilities, and state and local fair
housing agencies and their attorneys who partner with HUD. They co-authored
"The Difference is Important," an article published in The Journal
of Manufactured Housing, which explains the importance of meeting the requirements
of the Housing for Older Persons Exemption. Also, they developed "Theories
of Discrimination," a Power Point presentation and training guide which
has been used to train the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity office, and
state and local investigators. Office of General Counsel attorneys continued
their active involvement in community service and outreach as founding members
of the Atlanta Civil Rights Consortium, a group of federal agency attorneys
and civil rights professionals promoting the effective delivery of civil
rights services to citizens of Atlanta.
Contact: Steven J. Edelstein, Phone: (404)
331-5001 Ext. 2021
Tracking Number: 651
Winning Category: Program (Office of General Counsel)
Best Practice: Neighborhood and Community Revitalization
Centennial Place Revitalization Initiative
is Designed to Attract Residents from Diverse Income Groups
Atlanta.
Techwood Homes, the first federally-funded housing project in the United
States, was demolished and redeveloped as Centennial Place in the mid 1990s
under HUDs HOPE VI initiative to revitalize a historic public housing
community. Centennial Place incorporates various design elements to create
a community with numerous amenities that will attract residents from diverse
income groups. Utilizing the principles of New Urbanism, the development
combines historic renovation, contemporary residential design, and infrastructure
improvements to create a desirable living environment where public housing
is indistinguishable from market rate housing. Upon completion, Centennial
Place will consist of 900 units in a mixed-income community, integrating
market rate, tax credit eligible and public housing families in one development.
Additional components of the plan include development of a new K-5 magnet
elementary school, a state-of-the-art YMCA family and childrens center,
a mini-police precinct, a neighborhood retail center, renovation of the
community center, and job training and education for families. A team of
legal, financial and state entities, including Georgia Tech and the City
of Atlanta partnered in this initiative.
Contact: Carol Naughton, Phone: (404) 892-4700
Tracking Number: 1726
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)
Best Practice: Olympic Legacy Program
Olympic Legacy Program Encourages Revitalization
in the Atlanta Area
Atlanta.
The Atlanta Housing Authority created the Olympic Legacy Program in 1994
to leverage the opportunities created by HUDs HOPE VI Program to reposition
the authoritys severely distressed housing stock. As the recipient
of a HOPE VI grant for the revitalization of Techwood Homes and Clark Howell
Homes, the housing authority was challenged to create a better way to deliver
affordable housing for families living in these and other communities. To
integrate public housing families into the mainstream community and create
revenue for housing redevelopment and job training programs, the housing
authority initiated five housing complexes mixing public housing, other
low income and market rate housing units. Resident programs focus on job
training and education, appropriate recreation for seniors and youth, and
a welfare-to-work program developed by The Integral Partnership of Atlanta.
The housing authority partnered with a private sector developer to leverage
conventional financial resources to revitalize the units and earned income
from the lease of the non-public housing units. This program is encouraging
revitalization throughout Atlanta and is attracting significant public and
private investment.
Contact: Carol Naughton, Phone: (404) 892-4700
Tracking Number: 1754
Winning Category: Geographical and Program (Public and Indian Housing)
Best Practice: STAR Program (Successfully Teaching
Academic Readiness) After-School Education Component
The STAR Program Tutoring Sessions are
Paying OffStudent are more Enthusiastic About their School Work
Decatur.
The After School Tutoring Program is an enhancement of the Decatur Housing
Authoritys existing Successfully Teaching Academic Readiness (STAR)
Program. The Tutoring Program, operating three days a week, began in the
fall of 1999 for approximately 40 children in grades K-3 who attend three
neighborhood schools. After school, the children who have been identified
as needing mentoring and additional help, are provided tutoring sessions.
In addition, the children experience other academic enrichment activities
such as homework assistance, reading, or using the on-site computer lab.
The tutoring is performed at a five to one student to teacher ratio. Teachers
work directly with the children in a customized fashion as the work relates
to their progress in school. The cost of this intensive program is shared.
The Decatur City Schools pay 75 percent of the cost and the Decatur Housing
Authority pay 25 percent. At one of two elementary schools serving the public
housing community, grade retention was reduced in one year by 80 percent,
and teachers have commented that the children have become more enthusiastic
on finishing homework and cultivating their curiosity to learn.
Contact: Paul A. Pierce, Phone: (404) 377-0425
Ext.266
Tracking Number: 2059
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)
Best Practice: Family Counseling Center of
Middle Georgia
Family Counseling Center of Middle Georgia
Empowers Public Housing Development Residents to Acquire Skills to Improve
their Lives
Macon.
The Family Counseling Center of Central Georgia provides clinical therapy
in the Family Investment Center in Macon. The Center seeks to empower residents
of public housing developments and other low-income areas to acquire skills
and services to overcome low self-esteem, unemployment, and substance abuse
problems and to centrally locate services to reduce duplication of efforts.
The Center also develops short-term skills training programs to meet job
demands in Macon. Center services include counseling, parenting education
and referrals to community resources. The Center works with an integrated
team of agencies to improve the quality of life and economic situation of
these families. Clinical therapists evaluate each individual using Quality
of Life Assessments to measure more than 16 indicators such as emotional
satisfaction within the home, community, job, and family. In a single year,
the Center referred 6,500 persons to 28 different agencies. The program
used $4,950 Community Development Block Grant funds to leverage $1,670 of
funds from United Way, and 30 agencies in Macon have agreed to offer coordinated
services to the Center.
Contact: Kathy G. ONeal, Phone: (912)
745-2811
Tracking Number: 2821
Winning Category: Program (Community Planning and Development)
Best Practice: Adelante Hispano con Warner
Robins
Adelante Hispano con Warner Robins Fair
Housing Workshop Educated Residents About Housing Issues
Warner Robins.
Warner Robins Community Development Department, in collaboration with Middle
Georgia Technical Institute, Houston County Joint Certified Literate Community
Program and the National Hispanic Housing Council, held a successful Home
Buyer Education and Fair Housing Workshop, "Adelante Hispano con Warner
Robins," (Move Forward Hispanics with Warner Robins), for its growing
Hispanic population. Due to a language barrier, this community is not often
aware of fair housing laws and can easily be discriminated against by landlords,
mortgage lenders and insurance agencies. The workshop educated approximately
35 participants on such issues as home purchase as an investment, tax deductions
through interest and property tax, how to apply for a loan, loan closing,
fair housing education and training for equality in housing, how to understand
credit reports, and selecting a professional realtor. The workshop, financed
by CDBG funds, served as a catalyst to involve these and potentially more
Hispanics of Warner Robins in fair housing programs.
Contact: Kathy M. Hart, Phone: (921) 929-1118
Tracking Number: 1542
Winning Category: Program (Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity)
Best Practice: Wellston Villas
Wellston Villas Provides a Safe Haven for
Homeowners
Warner Robins.
The Wellston Villas was designed in downtown Warner Robins as part of a
creative crime prevention and affordable housing scheme. Using CDBG funds,
a dynamic team of duplex owners, local building lenders, and the public
works and other city departments, worked to revitalize the downtown area
and privatize the housing. They demolished the rental duplexes, installed
more street lighting, resurfaced some streets, and constructed new affordable
single-family homes for homeownership. This teamwork has so far provided
102 affordable single-family homes for homeownership in a safe environment,
and the parties are working to acquire an additional 20-30 units to complete
demolition and begin new construction. The program has held two successful
housing fairs that target the entire county and involve all local governments.
Contact: Kathy M. Hart, Phone: (912) 929-1118
Tracking Number: 1685
Winning Category: Program (Housing - Single Family)
Best Practice: HomeStretch
HomeStretch Assist Homeless Families in
Their Quest for Self-Sufficiency
Roswell.
Housing Initiative of North Fulton addresses the lack of emergency, transitional
and affordable housing in North Fulton County through HomeStretch, a transitional
housing program. Staff and volunteers collaborate to assist homeless families
better manage their life, money and future to return to housing self-sufficiency.
Each eligible family is offered a fully furnished house with the training
and service support necessary to regroup and regain lost independence. Also,
each family is assigned a Family Sponsor Team that offers support through
budgeting, mentoring and resource provision. The budget team works with
the family to develop and sustain a workable budget. The mentors provide
emotional support for parents and children. The resource team helps the
family solve the myriad of problems that challenge these families on a daily
basis such as lack of transportation, childcare, child support, and dealing
with collection agencies. A HomeStretch Family Coordinator develops a detailed,
tailored Goal Achievement Plan for each family, and volunteers, representing
churches, civic and corporate groups work directly with each family to achieve
the Goal Achievement Plan. This housing program has empowered over 150 families
and over 20 individuals through its counseling, financial training, and
skills development services.
Contact: John E. Smith III, Phone: (770) 642-9185
Tracking Number: 1461
Winning Category: Program (Community Planning and Development)
Best Practice: PASSAGE Program
"Children Are Our Future"PASSAGE
Program Prevents High-Risk Behavior in Youths
Atlanta.
PASSAGE (Promoting Alternatives, Suggesting Solutions and Generating Excellence)
is a technology based, after-school program that has served over 1,200 public
housing children and youth over a six-year period. Its primary goal is to
support and educate children and youth by increasing individual and group
development, and encouraging alternative lifestyles that prevent high-risk
behavior. These goals are achieved through four key objectives: education,
socialization, economic development, and cultural awareness. The Housing
Authority of Fulton County created this program in partnership with other
public and private partners in order to address the poor attendance and
poor report card grades of students that reside in public housing communities.
There are approximately 400 school-aged children that reside in one public
housing community in unincorporated Fulton, and PASSAGE helps monitor these
childrens progress and academic success. The partnerships of local
education and health agencies, the local school system, volunteers, and
college students have implemented a successful program that has resulted
in increasing attendance, higher high school seniors graduating, and improved
reading levels.
Contact: Bettye A. Davis, Phone: (404) 730-5842
Tracking Number: 2319
Winning Category: Program (Public and Indian Housing)
Best Practice: The Pavilion at Campbell-Stone
The Pavilion at Campbell-Stone Apartments
Meet the Needs of Alzheimers Residents
Atlanta.
Campbell-Stone Apartments, a Section 202-funded senior facility, added an
assisted living center to serve its growing number of patients suffering
from Alzheimer's disease. To meet the need for assisted living services
of existing and future senior residents, Campbell-Stone in 1995 launched
a fund-raising campaign to renovate three floors of its existing building
and add a new one. In early 1996, HUDs Atlanta office staff met with
the Campbell-Stone steering committee and representatives of the Atlanta
Alzheimer's Association, Area Agency on Aging, Piedmont Hospital, and the
Georgia Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. The steering committee
approved the concept of a 54-unit facility and engaged Continental Wingate
as the lender. The project was financed with tax-exempt bonds issued by
the Development Authority of Fulton County, Ga., and insured under HUD's
Section 232 program. Tax-exempt bonds, sold at a premium, provided additional
equity to close the transaction.
Contact: Jeffrey A. Fleming, Phone: (404)
331-5001 Ext. 2316
Tracking Number: 2729
Winning Category: Program (Housing - Multifamily)
Best Practice: Hampton East Mixed Use
Hampton East Development Providing
Homes After the Flood
Albany.
Helping a community rebuild housing after a natural disaster is one of the
first goals for local, state and governmental agencies. Finding the most
effective and creative way to address the needs of the distressed community
is the biggest challenge. The needs may vary from community to community
and ranging from repair efforts on some homes to total replacement for others.
Hampton East is a development in Albany, Georgia
that was created as a replacement for the unprecedented number of low- to
moderate-income homes that were destroyed in a 1994 flood. The flood damaged
5,805 housing units, or 23 percent of the housing units in the Albany area.
Approximately 90 acres of mostly vacant land was developed to provide modern,
affordable housing for an estimated 200 low- and moderate-income families,
some of whom were flood victims. These were homes that were deemed in fair
to substandard condition before the flood, making repair efforts difficult.
Many of the homes were rental properties. The most effective option was
to replace the homes instead of focusing on repair efforts.
Hampton East also sought to address the entire
needs of the community. Although housing was the most immediate need for
the residents, the previous community lacked the necessary support services
for its residents. This planned community provides, not only affordable
housing, a daycare center, recreation facilities, a shopping center but
small business development opportunities as well. Residents of the new community
also are included in the planning process for their new home. Qualified
applicants can select a home plan and construct it with financing provided
by local banks and the citys Affordable Home Ownership Program.
Hampton East is an 87-acre development in
Albany that can be a model for combined-use subdivision development. Hampton
East is an ideal program for communities in need of quality housing in low-
to moderate-income areas with available affordable land. Cooperation between
local planning and construction boards and agencies, local residents and
businesses, as well as funding from private and public agencies is key.
An essential component of this program are the housing counseling sessions
offered to participants to ensure permanent placement in the homes.
Although Hampton East was developed to address
the specific need for housing after a natural disaster, the program went
above and beyond the call for replacement housing. Hampton East saw that
as the lack of community services in the poorer areas and decided to build
those as well.
Contact: Rudolf Goddard, Phone: (912) 430-5283
Tracking Number: 2193
Winning Category: Geographical
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